Unlucky Member
by Cheshire's red eye
Summary: Ex-Criminal Ariana Kerli world is turned upside down when a strange man comes and visits her in prison. She later finds herself in a hospital with a man named Dick Grayson. She joins the Young Justice team, but will her past ruin everything? Mainly OC focused, Nightwing/fem.OC & Kaldur/fem.OC. Rated T
1. Prologue

**Hi Cheshire's Red Eye here, ok this is my first fanfic, so please be nice. I'm new to all of this. It's a Young Justice fic that I'm co-writing with sunflower13. It's OC/Nightwing and OC/Kalur. I have many fight and fluff scenes ready for this fanfic, so be prepared. I hope you enjoy it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice, but I do own Ariana. I just dust the Bat Cave.**

I don't care what people think of me, they judge me for the sins I've committed. Locked up like an animal, behind bars. One mistake ruins your life. You get a record for surviving. Trying to make it through this cold twisted world. I've been tortured for years, but I'm glad this cell keeps me at bay.

I was the youngest villain that ever hit Gotham City, but I've got my reasons for my crimes. I'm not proud of what I did to deserve this solitary! I'm "unstable for society" as they put me. For three years now I've been imprison. I'm not plotting revenge, I'm not an evil mastermind trying to destroy the world. I'm misunderstood. No one ever took the time to know me!

What I pray when I'm in my cell, is that one day someone will come. Saving me from my confinement, giving me a chance to be the good guy for once. To start over, a clean slate. I'm not evil and I never want to be.

I heard footsteps echoing down the hall. Could this be the savior I've been hoping for? The footsteps stopped at my cell door. This isn't a guard, it's a man. I feel great powers with this one, stronger than mine. This man has a powerful mind. I heard the cell door creak open, I covered my eyes to the blinding sunlight of the California sky.

I saw a figure of the man; he spoke to me in a calm voice. "So you are the great Merlin?"

He stepped closer to me, and I got a better look at him and winced. People say my appearance is bad. He is a very pale man, with three thin red lines under both of his narrow black eyes with green sclera. But the strangest part was the top part of his head was clear, you could see his brain!

I scurried farther away from him, he frowned.

"Now Miss Kerli is that anyway to treat your guests," he moved closer.

"How do you know my name?"

He smiled, "I know many things, Miss Kerli."

I gave him a suspicious look, "Who are you and why are you here? The guards never told me I was having a guest."

He spread out his hands in welcome, "My name is Psimon, and I have a proposal for the powerful Merlin."

**There is the prologue to the Unlucky Member, I know end on a cliffhanger. But the next chapter says why Psimon is there. And if you don't believe the sclera part, look it up on the Young Justice wiki. It's true. It also shows Ariana's powers and past. Please review, it would be nice. I hoped you liked it.**


	2. 1: The Proposal

**Hello my freaky darlings! Chapter 1 is here! Well I hope you like the chapter, you get see some of Ariana's powers and past. Plus some kick butt action! Ok I'm done...enjoy the show (as in meaning the story). P.S: If I spelled Simon instead of Psimon I'm sorry, just tell me and I'll fix it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, I just collect souvenirs for Beast Boy. **

This strange man, named Psimon showed up at my cell. He is offering me a proposal, but what kind of proposal? I stood from the cold cell floor and faced him.

I crossed my arms in defense, "What kind of proposal?"

He gave me a crooked smile. "A job proposal, I've heard of your...profession."

I shook my head, "Look sorry to disappoint you, but I don't con people anymore."

He laughed, "No not that profession the one that happened three years ago."

I felt my heart stop, my words where logged in my throat. "That..." He nodded.

I took a deep breath and stood my ground, "No, I don't kill people."

He looked disappointed, "Why not? With your power you would be a wonderful addition to the Light."

My blood ran cold when I hear that name, the Light. I've heard about that group from the gangs in Gotham City. A group of the top villains, joined forces to destroy the League and now they want me to join. I shook my head violently, "No, a thousand times no!" I felt a rush of anger surge through me, "I will not join the Light! No matter how many times you ask the answer will always be no."

I felt his threatening aura as his eyes narrowed. "Well if you're not coming willingly, then I have but no choice but to take you by force."

My eyes widened, I could sense his presence in my mind. I force him out, and he looked shocked. "Two can play at this game," I said.

He smiled, "But I have the upper hand." I gave him a confused look, and then the guards of the prison were all at my door. It makes sense now, he had them all under his control. I laughed at Psimon, "Very clever but I'm the best at what I do."

He smiled, "Oh really?"

"Yes," I said behind the guards. Psimon looked around frantically for me. He noticed I used my powers of illusion to trick him. He didn't look happy about it either.

"Get her!"

I ran down the halls with the guards behind me, I could hear their footsteps come closer. I can't even use my powers to break them of the state Psimon put them in, he has them completely under control.

My path was then blocked by rows of guards, and shortly after the guards behind me caught up.

I was surrounded, one of the guards came up behind me and he chained my wrists. He had me locked down in his grasp. I take a deep breath, I have to focus my mind.

I heard Psimon's footsteps, he made his way through the crowd. He smiled, he looked pleased that he had won. "We telepaths have to stick together."

I chuckled, "No, I'm more of a lone wolf."

He scowled, "You see my powers are stronger than yours."

"Well the Justice League didn't think so," I said in a cocky attitude. He didn't really like that response.

He walked towards me and touched the golden locket that hung around my neck. He grabbed it and pulled it off, snapping the chain. He admired my necklace in his hand, and he clicked it open. He saw the picture of my parents, he looked at me. "What a lovely family you had. I wonder what happened to them?"

I squirmed around trying to get free. I looked him in the eye and I spit in his face. "People like you killed them," I said in a threatening tone. He wiped the spit off his face, and grabbed my chin. He was so close to my face, I could feel his mind trying to invade mine. But I fought him off as long as I could.

He released me and didn't look pleased with the results. I have to get out of here, and I have to think fast. I vowed I would never do something like I did three years ago. But this man wants me to do it again and that's not going to fly with me.

I sighed to myself, I promised my grandfather before he passed away that I will survive and I will! I looked around and saw an opening, I smiled. I turned my attention to Simon, "You know I pity you."

He looked surprised, "Why?"

"Because I'm going to do this," I kicked him in the jaw. He stepped away clenching his jaw. I flipped the guy behind me, sending him flying towards Psimon they collided. I broke the chains, and knee the guard coming towards me in the stomach. I ducked from a guard and he went flying into another. I rushed towards the wall and ran up. I ran across and jumped off, flipping in the air. I landed on my feet behind the crowd of guards. I took off running, I could hear Simon screaming that the top of his lungs.

"SHOOT HER!"

There was a fire of bullets, but I kept on running. I was hit in the arm and the leg, but I didn't care. I took a few lefts and rights until I made it outside.

It was hot and the dusty wind wasn't helping. I could hear the alarms ringing for an escaped prisoner. I rushed towards the metal fence, and laced my fingers through the wide holes. I climbed up and landed on my feet on the other side.

I looked back to see the huge solitary confinement prison. I sighed, I felt relieved and free. Finally free from three years in that place, and I'm never going back. I took off running into the desert ahead.

There was a sharp pain in my leg and arm, but I kept on running. I stopped for a rest and put my hand on my injury on my arm. I looked and saw my hand was covered in blood. I took a deep breath, I could feel the sweat drip from my forehead. My orange prison jumpsuit doesn't help at all with the heat. I continued on running.

It has been a few hours running in the desert, and I was more stumbling than running. The pain has intensified, and I can barely hold on. My legs gave in and I tumbled into the sandy ground. I laid there in the sand watching up at the shy. I saw buzzards flying above me, I guess fate is saying something. I ran my tongue over my chapped lips, and sighed.

I remember my childhood in Central City, it was the happiest time in my life. I would play with my best friend, Wally West. We would have the craziest time together. He's the only friend I ever had.

But my life changed when my parents were killed, they were visiting my grandfather in Gotham City. They were killed in a hostage situation held by the villain, The Joker. I had to move away to Gotham to live with my grandfather. He was very old and didn't really pay much attention to me.

My vision started to blur from the tears forming. I don't have the strength to wipe them away, so I let them fall. It felt nice against my burning skin. I could feel my energy slip away and everything was starting to fade away. It didn't take long to slip away completely leaving myself in the dark again.

**I will unmask more of Ariana's past later on in the story, because that's how I roll. I bet you have many questions also? So please review! Because I will not post the next chapter if I don't get at least four reviews! Next chapter will be Nightwing's POV (just so you know). I hoped you enjoyed it. :)**


	3. 2: WHY!

**Hello everyone! Before I start it has come to my intention to explain one thing. Don't worry it's not bad, I said that this story is Nightwing/OC & Kalur/OC well it's not a love triangle if you're thinking that (it's ok if you where). Since I am co-writing with sunflower13 her wonderful OC, Kate, will be in this fic. And she is the Kalur/OC, and I am Nightwing/OC. Because Nightwing is Hot! & she feels the same way about Kalur *wink wink*. Also, there will be no Spitfire sadly. I know it breaks my heart to say that because I'm a huge fan of Spitfire! This fic takes place right after Artemis "died". So no Spitfire T.T. Now on with the story!**

***Note: if there are any grammar/spelling mistakes, tell me. That would me helpful.***

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, I'm just Wonder Girl's sparring partner.**

**Nightwing's POV:**

Why! Why this week, out of all weeks the solitary confinement prison gets a break out! First off, La'gaan gets captured and now this! Now I have to check out the prison, wonderful. Seriously! I heard only one prisoner escaped, but the guards don't remember anything about it. I'm just glad there was no serious damage, and that the team's is on vacation. I swear can anything else tick me off today.

Something caught my eye, it looked like a person. I pulled over to the side of the road, and got off my motorcycle. I slid down the sand dunes to the bottom, I ran to see who this person was. I walked to her side; she was unconscious. She was wearing a orange prison jumpsuit. She must be the escaped prisoner, I looked closely at her.

She looked around my age. She had long jet black hair with silver and purple streaks. Her bangs covered most of her face, and she was extremely pale. She has piercings all along her right ear. I looked at the name patch on her jumpsuit right above her heart. It said Merlin. Something caught my eye again, it was blood! I was taken aback, she is bleeding. Pools of blood surrounded her right leg and arm.

I placed my head on her chest to hear her heartbeat. She is alive, but her heartbeat is faint. I picked her up, she was so light. I rushed towards my motorcycle, I just hope I can save her in time.

I rushed into the nearest city, I have to get to the nearest zeta tube. If I put her in a hospital she will try to escape, but if I kept her at Mount Justice she will be in the League's control. I got to the tube, I told it where to take us and it did.

I arrived at Mount Justice, the portal said my name and I rush towards the infirmary. I place her on a bed and hook her up to a machine, letting her get blood. I look at her injures, and I see that they where bullet wounds. I sigh, I guess I have to take the bullets out.

A few hours later, I have finished taking care of everything. She was still unconscious, but at least she will live. When she wakes up, I'll ask her about the break out and who is she? Merlin? Why does that name sound so familiar?

**It's short I know...it just so hard writing in his point of view. I have never been good in writing in a guy's point of view. And for the record I don't look like Ariana at all! Also FYI I will be on vacation so the updating the next chapter is not going to happen for awhile! All I have to say is REVIEW! Thanks for reading, hoped you enjoyed it!**


	4. 3: Two new faces

***starts playing music* Hey I just met you, and this is crazy! But the new chapter is out so please read it! Ok I'm done...**

**Vacation was nice, and now school starts. NOOOOOO! And now my lovely friend, sunflower13, shall write something :D hurray! **

**Now stop...story time. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, but sunflower13 does own Kate. I just wash the Bio-Ship.**

My eyes begin to flutter open, am I in a hospital bed? Where am I? I look around, yep I'm in some sort of hospital. I feel a surge of extreme pain wash over me. It's from my arm; it feels like someone stabbing me a thousand times. I can't stop breathing hard! I need to focus! I take deep slow breaths. I laugh at myself, I've been through worse than this. The pain starts to fade but it still hurts.

I notice I'm not alone. The only one in here, besides me, is a man with black hair and shades sitting on the edge of the bed. Apparently he hasn't noticed I'm awake yet. I look over and see the surgical utensils. I reach over for the scalpel and grab it, and I sit up on the bed. The man finally got the idea I'm awake but it's too late, I already have the scalpel up against his throat. He holds up his hands in defense, it's strange that he isn't fighting back. I give him a suspicious look. "Who are you and where am I?"

He acts calm, I don't like the look of this, "My name is Richard Grayson but people call me Dick for short. I found you half dead on the side of the road and brought you here."

I become serious, "You're from the government aren't you?"

He looks confused, "What?"

"You're wearing shades. That always means you're from the government, and that that was a restricted area. Only authorized personnel were allowed in."

He smiles, "I'm not from the government, and I don't mean you any harm."

"I don't trust you."

He raises an eyebrow, "Really?"

I nod.

He chuckles, "Well I don't blame you."

I sense his thoughts, "Alright stop dilly dallying I know you want to ask me questions it's all over your mind."

He's taken aback, but he just smiles, "Alright Merlin."

I smirk, "It's funny I haven't gone by that name in three years."

"Then what do you go by?"

"Ariana, but you can call me Kerli."

"Why Kerli?"

My face darkens. He gets the idea I didn't want to venture into it, "Well I'll just call you Ariana. It's a pretty name."

I blush, even though I don't want to. "Thank you?"

He smiles, "Now can you please remove that scalpel from my neck."

I lower my hand cautiously.

"Now can you tell me what happened at the solitary confinement prison?"

I quickly put the scalpel back to his neck, "Who are you?!"

"I told you already!"

"Where am I?!"

"Happy Harbor, Rhode Island!"

My eyes widen, "That's all the way across the country! I was in Death Valley, California! How in the world am I in Rhode Island!"

"I zeta tubed you here."

"YOU WHAT NOW!"

He sighs, "Alright I'll tell you."

I give him a look, "Tell me what?"

"I actually work for the Justice League."

I feel rage surge through me, and I press the scalpel hard against his throat. "Give me one good reason why I don't cut your throat right now."

He smiles, "What, you don't like the League?"

"Ha, don't like the League," my expression becomes threatening, "The League members were the ones that locked me up in the first place."

His face darkens, "I see, but they aren't here right now. It's just you and me." I see that he is reaching behind him, but I don't act fast enough. Next thing I know the scalpel is knocked out of my hand; and both of my hands become handcuffed to the hospital bed. I pull at the chains, I look over at him. My maroon eyes fill with rage. "What do you want? Put me back in jail. What!"

He shrugs, "I want information. Now tell what happened."

So I tell him what happened at the prison, leaving out any personal info of course. He just nodded along the entire time.

"Ariana," he finally says after I finish.

"What!" I say, gritting my teeth.

He smiles, "I have a team, and I would like for you to join."

I'm taken aback, but then I snarl at him.

"I'll take that as a no then." He starts to get up.

"Wait!" he stops and looks at me.

"First off," I say, "I don't like guys who handcuff people to hospital beds. But I never said no. I'll think about it."

He smiles, "Well if you do accept my offer you don't have to go back to prison."

"Tempting but..." He sits back down on the bed.

"Ariana, I can see a little good in you so I offered. But don't you want a second chance?" My eyes widen. A second chance...I smile at him. I guess this is what I've been waiting for, but how can I trust this guy. I barely know what I'm getting into.

I shake my head, "I'll think about."

He just nods in reply and leaves, he turns back to face me in the doorway, "You know you're not so bad...for a villain."

I smirk, "You say villain like it's a bad thing, Bat Boy."

He's taken aback, but he tries hard to cover it. He just smirks and leaves.

**Kate's POV:**

I wander through the halls of the cave, not really having a destination. I fiddle with the hem of my jacket in a nervous habit. Just then Nightwing walks by, rubbing his throat and looking worried.

"Hey," I say.

"Hi," he mumbles distractedly. I frown at his retreating back. Something is up. And judging from the worried look on his face and the direction he came from, it has something to do with the infirmary. I quickly walk to the med bay, hoping I'll still be able to help. When I enter the room, I am slightly surprised to see a girl handcuffed to the bed. I had been expecting one of the team members, not a stranger. Her streaked hair is a mess, and her maroon eyes are filled with rage as she tugs on her handcuffs. I quietly clear my throat. The girl looks up.

"Oh, did Bat Boy send you to try and convince me? Tell him that I need time to think," she says.

"Um, no. Nightwing didn't send me at all. I just thought that someone was hurt, and I was seeing if I could help," I reply, looking at the ground. I hate meeting new people, I always become so shy, and then I get pegged as snobbish.

"Oh. Well," the girl says, clearly confused. "I did get shot a few times."

"Where exactly did you get shot?" I ask, losing my shyness as I realize someone is injured.

"My right arm and leg," she replies, nodding her head at the hurt appendages. "Although I don't really see how you could help…" her voice trails off as I walk over, tugging my sleeves up to reveal a bracelet with a purple and silver stone on it. I roll the sleeve of her hospital gown up and undo the bandages. I wince when I see the bullet hole. The area is clean, probably Nightwing's doing, but it still looks pretty nasty. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and tap into my magic. I open my mind to the injury and let in the pain and slight infection. I take another deep breath and focus on cleaning it out and closing it. After a few seconds, I hear the girl gasp. I open my eyes and grin. Her arm looks as good as new.

"There. It'll be a little sore for the next day or so, but other than that, it's like you were never injured."

"How did you do that?" the girl gasps.

"I'll explain as soon as I do your leg," I say, and she quickly extends her leg for me to examine. This injury is more of a graze thankfully, but still pretty deep. I repeat the process with even quicker results. "There," I say with a grin.

"Now will you tell me how you do that?" the girl demands.

"Sure," I reply as I sit down on the bed next to her. "Magic. I'm a healer and warrior mage. The healer part means I can heal, read auras, and weave magic. And the warrior part basically means I can shape my magic to fight with, and I have slightly enhanced strength, speed, reflexes, and stamina. All I need is my stone and enough energy to do whatever it is that needs to be done."

"Oh," the girl gapes. "All I can do is read your mind and make illusions." I laugh.

"Those are still pretty powerful things." I feel my awkwardness coming back and quickly jump up. "Want me to brush your hair? I know Wonder Girl keeps a hairbrush in here somewhere," I babble as I open and close drawers. I find the brush and walk back over to the bed. "I'm Kate by the way," I add as I sit down.

"Ariana. But most people call me by my last name, Kerli," Ariana replies.

"Well I think Ariana is a beautiful name, so that's what I'm going to use," I tell her as I run the brush through the knots in her hair.

"That's the second time someone's told me that today," she grumbles.

"For good reason," I laugh. "All done," I say as I put the brush down. She has beautiful hair. Long and black with purple and silver streaks. "I love the streaks you've added," I say.

"Thanks."

"So where are you from? And why did Nightwing handcuff you to the bed?" I ask, curious. She shifts around nervously.

"I'm kinda a prison escapee. And Bat Boy found me in the desert and brought me here for some reason. He wants me to join some team he's in charge of."

"Oh that would be so cool!" I squeal. Ariana winces. "Oh sorry. But seriously, you should really consider joining. I haven't had a real friend since…never mind. But please, please, please join!"

Ariana laughs. "I've never seen anyone this eager to hang out with me since I was a kid!"

**Nightwing's POV:**

I walk down the hall to the med bay. Ariana should have had plenty of time to think things over. I pause at the door, hearing laughter. Did her time in prison make Ariana crack? Peeking in, I see a surprising site. Kate has joined Ariana on the bed, and they're both chatting and smiling. I hadn't seen Kate like this since Kaldur left. I knock on the doorframe before walking in. Ariana's smile is quickly replaced with a frown.

"So have you thought about my offer?" I ask her.

"Yes," she replies curtly.

"Well…?"

"I'll do it. I'll join the team. But not because you asked me, Bat Boy. Because she asked me," Ariana says, jerking her head at Kate. "Now can you take these handcuffs off?" I chuckle and take out the key and unlock the cuffs. Ariana rubs her wrists before turning to Kate.

"Do you have any clothes I can wear?" she asks. "I can't very well go around in a hospital gown."

"Do I ever," Kate returns with a grin. She drags Ariana out of the room, and I grin.

**Awww poor Bat Boy. Hehe well I hope you liked this chapter. You should also check out sunflower13, cuz her story's are AWESOME! To be honest she is the bigger Young Justice fan then me. Well hoped you liked it, I'll update soon! But you better REVIEW or no Megan's cookies for you! **

**Sunflower13: Hey, sunflower13 here. Three things. One, the whole magic/mage thing comes from Rachel Roberts's series ****Avalon: Web of Magic****. So I take no credit for the bit of creative genius. Secondly, this story is not connected in any way with any other stories Kate is in. I like her a lot, so I use her in almost all of my Young Justice stories. Thirdly, you had better appreciate this chapter since I have a crazy amount of weekend homework that I've barely touched, and I am dead tired to boot, and I had to reedit and send this thing at least four times. So review. Or I WILL send my weedwhacker-loving friend after you.**


	5. 4: COOKIES!

**So let me tell you a tale as old as 3 to 4 years ago: Once there lived a nerd girl and she met a wandering freak named Fluff Monster. They became best friends. They then drank from the river of strawberry milkshakes and thus this fanfic was born!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, Jaime just helps me with my Spanish homework.**

I follow the blonde hair girl out of the infirmary. I like Kate, even though she's a cheerful person. I have never really gotten along with those types of people because of my personality. I just hope we can become better friends, and we're getting along great so far. Although I still have to meet the members of this mystery team. I don't like to be near people, I like to distance myself from others. Let's just say I don't have very good people skills, as in saying not at all.

She offers me a tour around the Cave, and I agree. I must get to know my surroundings. We make our way to the kitchen and I've never seen such a glorious sight, FOOD! I gaze at it in its everlasting glory! The chocolate oozed out the golden brown cookies. It smells so good, like heaven. I drool at the sight of it.

Kate laughs, "You can help yourself."

I give her a disbelieving look, and she just nods towards the plate of cookies. My face lights up and I dash towards the cookies. I grab one and it's still warm, I shiver in excitement. I take a bite and it melts into my mouth. I let out a sigh; I've almost forgotten what real food tastes like. I haven't had good food in seven years. And of course in prison "food" is considered gruel through a slot. I devour the cookies, Kate gives a cheerful laugh. She makes her way to the counter and sits on a stool. I stop myself before I shove a cookie into my mouth and look at her. I offer her the cookie, she smiles and takes it. I reach down and my fingers touch the empty plate. I see that I have eaten all twenty cookies, even the crumbs.

Kate takes a bite out of the cookie, "_I see I'm not the only one who is a fan of Megan's cookies._" I sense her thoughts.

I give her a confused look, "Megan?"

Kate is taken aback, but I bet she realizes I can read her mind. "Yeah," she starts to say, "She's on the team."

I sense that we and Bat Boy are the only ones here, "Well where is this so called 'team'?"

Kate finishes her cookie, "Nightwing made everyone take a few days off."

"Why?"

Kate suddenly has a sad expression, "A close friend of ours passed away a few days ago."

"Oh..," I say quietly.

"Yeah, I'll miss Artemis."

My heart stops. "Artemis Crock?"

Kate frowns. "Yeah, did you know her?"

Artemis! No, no not her, anybody but her! I stagger back, my eyes filling with tears. I remember her, Wally would always video chat with me when I was in prison. Artemis, Wally's girlfriend, would sometimes barge in on some. I would talk to her during our video chats. She would make Wally so happy, and it always warmed my heart to see him smile. If only I could see that smile, it gave me hope that I would get out of that hell hole someday. That he has a reason to live, because I lost mine. I wanted to see him happy. Now all I can feel is pain, his pain, Wally. A tear made its way down my cheek. She was his everything, and now...she's gone. Kate becomes alert, "Ariana, are you alright?"

I rub my eyes, "Yeah, I just got something in my eye. That's all."

"Are you sure?"

I stop rubbing my eyes and give her a reassuring smile. "Yeah of course," I lie. She gives me a faint smile, if she only knew I feel her pain for Artemis as well. I'll miss my dear friend, his dear friend...

Kate finishes the tour of the Cave. I totally went all out when she said the savior word, Library. I love books; reading saved me from my horrible life in Gotham. Books were my only friend and they still are. We make our way to her room, she says I'll get my clothes there? I don't know what that means but I'll go along. I just hope she owns something black.

**Kate's POV:**

I can hear Ariana following me, her footsteps barely making a sound. She's so small. I remember the way she devoured the cookies, like she was starving. Where did Nightwing find her? My mind turns to how she looked shocked when I mentioned Artemis's name. How did she know her? Oh well, I won't pry. I, of all people, should understand privacy. We reach the door to my room, and I open it. We step inside, and Ariana takes it in. I painted the walls purple, adding a turquoise comforter to the bed, and a hand knit patchwork blanket at the foot of it.

"I love your room. Especially this blanket," Ariana says, moving forward to finger it.

I beam with pride. "Thanks, I made it myself."

"You knit? That's so cool!" I laugh and drag her over to the closet.

"I give you….the Closet of Wonders!" I say in a dramatic voice, adding a bow. Ariana cracks a smile and slides open the door.

"Where's the clothes?" she asks, confused. I giggle.

"Right here, silly." I turn towards the closet and clear my throat. "I'd like a white lacy dress with an empire waist and loose three-quarter sleeves." Instantly, the dress appears on a hanger in the closet, exactly as I describe it. Ariana gasps. "Cool right? Megan and I used to play a game where we would try and see who could come up with the craziest outfit."

"How…how did you do that?" Ariana asks, clearly still in shock.

"Well there's a big, long, and confusing answer, but the short one is magic."

"So I can describe any outfit, and it will appear?" I nod, and the raven-haired girl goes straight to work. The end product is a long-sleeved purple shirt with a loose, ripped black t-shirt over it. She wore a short and flowing black skirt, with purple and black striped stockings and black combat boots.

"I like it," I say with a grin. Ariana gives a little twirl, grinning back.

"Got any make-up?" she asks.

"Maybe…" I say, rummaging through my desk drawers. "I don't wear make-up unless I'm undercover, but it should be somewhere around here. Oh here it is!" I exclaim, holding up a small bag. I unzip it and spill the contents onto the desk. Ariana looks through the pile, and picking up a small mirror, quickly applies black eyeliner and lipstick.

"So what do you think?" she asks.

"I'd hate to run into you alone in a dark alley," I answer truthfully.

"Perfect!" she exclaims. Just then Nightwing pops his head in.

"Is everything going okay ladies?" he asks. I nod, and Ariana scowls. "I like your outfit," he tells her.

She smirks. "Stop looking at my legs Bat Boy," she says smugly, obviously reading his mind.

Nightwing smiles cheekily. "What can I say? I enjoy the finer things of life." He leaves the room and Ariana huffs in annoyance. I giggle at her expression, and she reluctantly joins in.

**Sunflower: Hey everyone! Here's how Cheshire and I really met: I had just moved, and this little girl offered to take me to someone in the neighborhood my age. Soon all the little kids were circling us like vultures on their bikes. I felt like Snow White being surrounded by chirping birds and chipper chipmunks. Then I met Cheshire, and it was true friendship ever since. Well, review, or I'll set my army of animal kid minions on you!**

**Cheshire: Mwhahahahaha it's so true XD! Anyway I love Sunflower she the best best friend a freak could have! Well I got homework to do, and REVIEW or I'll go all angry giant squid on u!**


	6. 5: Liar Liar Conner's pants on fire

**I'M A BANANA! I'M A BANANA! I'M A BANANA! Now just go outside and scream that and see how many strange looks you get...do it I dare you! Oh the things that would happen at Hogwarts if I was there. The time has finally come! It is time to meet the team! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, I just brush Wolf's fur...I got nothing.**

**Nightwing's POV:**

It's been a day since Ariana has decided to stay with us. So I decide to do some research on her.

I type in her name, Ariana Kerli, and her national record pops up.

Blah, blah, blah. She's eighteen?

Ummm...it says she has had a small juvenile record since the age of thirteen. But that's it? I type her name in the Justice League's records since she was begin held in a League prison. The screen starts to blink the word 'classified'. I raise an eyebrow and type in Merlin. Still the same word, that's strange. I wonder why the League classified her record and why was she in prison in the first place? I shrug, and move on to her school record.

It says here that she dropped out of school in the ninth grade, but before that she had a perfect attendance record. She was the highest in her class; I glance at her average score. I almost fall out of my seat; she has a higher grade point average than me! Well by two points and this is since the ninth grade...moving on. Something caught my eye, guidance counselor? I click on it and scroll down until I see it. A smirk appears from the corners of my mouth, hello there what do we have here?

I hear something in the distance...it sounds like the zeta tube. _Recognize Miss Martian, Recognize Superboy. _My eyes widen, oh no Ariana! I can't let them meet her just yet. I bolt out of my room and into the main room. I see Megan and Connor just standing there glaring at me as I run by.

"Hey Megan, hey Connor!" I say as I dash by them.

They give me confused looks. I finally make it to Kate's room, where I bang violently on the door until she opens up. Kate slams open the door angrily.

"WHAT!"

"They're here," Kate's eyes widen and she closes the door behind her. "Is she in there?" I ask her, she just nods in reply. "Good, keep her there until I say so."

"Why?"

I roll my eyes, "Because, I want everyone to be here when I introduce her and they wouldn't be here until later this afternoon so keep the little delinquent occupied until then!"

Kate doesn't like my response on her doing babysitting duty. "She's not a delinquent."

I scoff and whisper in a harsh tone, "Oh yes she is and just watch her!"

Kate sighs, "Fine I'll 'watch her'." I smile at her and leave to go back to work.

The whole team made it in later that day. I gather everyone to the main room. They were all chatting, only Kate was silent. I clear my throat, and they fall silent. Their eyes on me. I smile at them, "Now I have an announcement to make." They become serious. "I would like all of you to meet someone."

I look over to the hallways, "Kerli!"

"WHAT!" she seems quite annoyed.

"Get in here!"

"MAKE ME BAT BOY!" My eyebrows pull together, I can't stand her calling me that, especially in front of the team. That girl is getting on my last nerve.

"ARIANA EVELINE KERLI YOU GET IN HERE RIGHT NOW!" The team jumps at my raised voice. I hear the rapid clicking of her heels on the hard floor, she storms into the room. She is not a happy camper.

_"How do you know my middle name!" _She screams at me telepathically.

I turned my eyes away from hers, _"That's classified information." _

She gives me a glare, in the end only sighing and making her way to stand next to me.

"Everyone," I start to say, "This is Ariana Kerli."

**Ariana's POV:**

I can't believe Bat Boy knows my middle name. What else does he know about me? I push that aside for now. I glance at the faces before me; I could tell they weren't impressed on what they saw. Oh you've got to me kidding me, he has finally lost it. They're probably thinking, we've recruited a goth girl.

Suddenly a girl was before my eyes, smiling. I jump back from the sudden appearance. Her hand is reached out to me. Her skin is green and she has short red hair.

"Hi I'm Megan. Nice to meet you."

I give her a strange look. I grab one of her fingers and lightly shake it. She raises an eyebrow at me. "Kerli," I whisper, "Can you please back away from me."

She realizes she is kind of in my personal space. "Oh... yeah." She backs away.

I sigh to myself, I swear is every girl on this team preppy!

"So," a voice interrupts my thoughts, "What are your skills and/or powers?"

I look over at the voice, she has auburn hair and is wearing black shades.

"Telepath and illusionist."

"Illusionist?" a Hispanic teen asks.

I turn my attention to him, "Yeah...I can show you if you like?"

He nods. "Ok," I say, "I need a volunteer."

A young boy with green skin also yells out pointing at the man next to him, "Superboy!"

The man named 'Superboy' looks at him angrily, "Beast Boy!" He examines me. He looks cautiously at me.

"Don't worry," I tell him, "I bite." I hear Kate giggle to herself, he didn't look pleased.

"Front and center!" I tell him. He makes his way in front of me; he glares at me not enjoying this. Oh this is going to be fun!

"Okay look at me." He did. "Now look up." He did. "Now back to me." He did. "Now look down." He did and his eyes widen. He screams at the top of his lungs. Everyone becomes alert, he starts to jump around.

"Get it off! GET IT OFF!" I burst out laughing, I forgot how fun this is. Suddenly Superboy rips off his pants, and we could see his heart boxers. I double over laughing. Everyone gives me strange looks, he starts to stomp on his pants.

"Ariana," Nightwing whispers, "That's enough."

I give him an unpleased look, "You're no fun." I snap my fingers and the illusion is gone. Superboy is panting like crazy, he gives me the death glare.

"What did you do?" a cheerful blonde girl asks me.

"Oh I made him think his pants were on fire." They all stand there in shock.

"Why!" The girl in shades yells.

I shrug, "You guys wanted to see an illusion."

She ignores me and turns her attention to Nightwing, "You've got be kidding me right?"

He shakes his head, she looks enraged. "She is a psychopath!"

"Uh hello," I say, "Psychopath still in the room."

A mini Bat Boy interrupts us, "Umm Nightwing, is she a replacement for La'gaan?"

Nightwing made a not to mention it sort of motion, I turn my attention to him. "What is he talking about?"

Nightwing looks nervous, "He was a team member that's been captured by the enemy."

I step back in shock, "So I'm just some...replacement!"

"No, it's not like that."

"It's exactly like that!"

He sighs. He's about to open his mouth to answer but he's cut off by Superboy. "He was taken by a traitor." Kate's expression becomes gloomy.

"He also killed a friend of ours," he continues, "He's a good for nothing traitor. A villain!"

The words stab me like a knife through the chest. I drop my gaze.

"What's so wrong with villains?"

He's taken by shock that I ask him that, "What's wrong! They're evil! They hurt innocent people just for their own personal gain! I thought...we all thought we were Kaldur's friends but wickedness corrupted him. Look what villains do, they only hurt people!"

A tear threatens to run down my cheek. Kate runs past me in a flash. I look up and saw her covering her face with her hand. She's headed towards her room. Kate...

I shoot a look at Superboy, "You're right villains do hurt people but it doesn't mean you should always judge them because of their actions right away. They can have an important reason for why they do what they do!" I storm off behind Kate, tears threatening to fall.

"Arie wait!" I stop in my tracks, my eyes widen. I look back at Nightwing, how did he know that! I hate that nickname! My eyes narrow and he realizes what he just said was a big no-no. Rage surges through me, I bolt towards him. I slap him across his face, the team jumps. He looks back at me all confused. "Don't you EVER call me that again!"

He gives me a faint smile, "Why not I think it suits you?"

I'm taken aback, but I just push it aside. "Stay away from me," I hiss.

Bat Boy smiles, "I'm going to reject that offer."

I turn on my heel and walk away.

"I'll stop calling you Arie if you stop calling me Bat Boy," he calls after me.

I laugh, "Not in a million years Bat Boy!"

I walk down the hallway of the dorm rooms. I start looking for Kate frantically, where is she! Suddenly there's a pain in my head.

_"Ha ha ha look it's Arie!" _I start to tremble,_ "Ha nice hair Arie, what did your mom do it oh wait you don't have one!" _I stop in my tracks, I couldn't stop shaking. People would call me that horrid nickname, Arie, just to make me feel bad about myself. Everyone hated me...and they still do. I just want to crumble to dust, become nonexistent.

No! I can't let my emotions overpower my will, Kate needs me and I won't abandon her!

I start to walk on, I suddenly stop at a door. I hear weeping on the other side. Strange, it isn't Kate's room. I open the door and step in, out of nowhere a pillow slams into my face. I see Kate crying on the bed. She glares at me from the corner of her eye, "Go away!"

Wow, I wonder where I've seen that before. A smile creeps onto my face and I burst out laughing. Kate looks so confused, "My pain isn't funny Ariana!"

I shake my head, "I'm not laughing at you."

She wipes her tears away from her eyes, "Then what are you laughing about."

Every time I got upset when I was younger, Wally would always check on me like this. In return I would throw a pillow at him and tell him to get lost. It's strange that we are so similar. Grief washes over my face, "Just an old memory."

Kate gets the idea and pats the bed. I accept her offer, closing the door and sitting down next to her. Her eyes are all red and puffy, also those grayish-blue eyes of hers are all watery. I sigh. Pain has its way of showing...doesn't it. I give her a faint smile and gently pat her on the back. I'm not really good at this "cheering up friend thing", Wally was always the one who was good at that. She sniffles and lays her head against my shoulder.

"Shhh," I gently whisper, "It's ok...Arie is here." I hear Kate softly giggle, I couldn't help but smile. She sits up and just glares at me. "What's wrong?" I ask her.

She adverts her eyes to the hem of her jacket and starts to fiddle with it. I give her a stern look, "Come on it's best to get it out...trust me I of all people should know."

She shoots me a surprised look, but then she relaxes. "You know that guy they were talking about...the traitor."

I nod. "Well," she starts to say, "We kind of...dated."

My eyes widen, I can understand. It must be hard for her, I mean your boyfriend is a villain. "I see."

She rolls her eyes, "Of course you do. How would _you_ understand!"

I become silent, no one here understands. I look down at my feet, I guess people don't understand what villains are really like. Like they are not all "bad". Of course these people won't understand; a villain to them is a truly evil person etc. There are villains that are truly evil, but not all are. Kate realizes she said the wrong thing.

"Hey," she asks me, "I remember you telling me you're a prison escapee." I give her a sideway glance, nodding in reply.

"I'm not proud of what I did to get in prison and people still judge me for that horrible crime I committed. Just understand one thing, people do bad things for a reason. And being marked as a villain, for me, is the hardest thing that has ever happened to me. I don't expect you to understand what I go through, but just make sure you don't judge me on my actions and just my personality. That's all I ask of you...," tears start to fall down my cheek. Kate wasn't expecting that. "That speech was just as hard on me as on you."

I think she got the message, because that moment she wraps her arms around me, embracing me in a hug. I'm completely shocked, "Why are you hugging me, I'm a villain?"

"No," she says sternly, "you're my friend." I couldn't help but smile, it feels so good to actually have a friend. For being so cold and lost in the dark for so long, it's strange for her friendship's warmth to makes me so happy. That she suffers just as much as me, and we can get through our problems together. I laugh at the thought. Kate pulls away, and gives me a strange look. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing...I'm just crazy," I say, giving her the biggest smile I had.

**Nightwing's POV:**

We all stand there in silence a few minutes after Arie stormed off. Jaime breaks the silence, "I like her." The team just shoots him disapproving glares. "What," he says, "She seems pretty cool, a bit crazy but cool!" I burst out laughing, I'm sure the team thinks I've finally lost it.

"Oh Jaime...," I start to say, "If you only knew."

**Done! Finally! Omg that chapter is like seven pages! Why is it so long! Anyway so Sunflower didn't write anything this time, all me. But she gets the next chapter! It's all about Kate and Kaldur! **

**I don't know why but I love examination marks! Mwhahahaha! **

**Sunflower: And apparently she loves evil laughs and spelling Kaldur's name without the l. Be glad I'm here people, be very glad indeed.**


	7. 6: City of Love

**So you think you've got friends in high places, with the power to put us on the run. Well forgive us for these smiles on our faces, you'll know power is when we are done. YOUR PLAYING WITH THE BIG BOYZ NOW!**

**Ok so I've writing a lot…like three chapters and I have not Internet at my house. I'm actullay pulling a Robin by hacking into sunflower's neighbor's Internet, hehe. Since there was a hurricane, and I lost power! Also I will not post these new chapters unless I get so reviews. I know you're out there, I see you! To the people who follow and favorite me, please review….we (sunflower and I) like your opinions. I don't know if I'm doing a good job, or you hated that chapter with a thousand burning suns! TELL ME! Please….**

**Kate's POV**

I'm standing underneath the glittering glass pyramid of the Louvre, home of the famous Mona Lisa, among many other masterpieces. Around me, people laugh and talk, all here for the art show of Tomas Desjardins, an up and coming artist. Except me. I'm here because Nightwing received an anonymous tip that Vandal Savage would be here tonight. So he picked me to do surveillance, the up close and personal kind. Sighing, I scratch my arm and look around for tall, big, and dark-skinned man. I chose a purple silk dress with long bell sleeves and a loose skirt that fell just past my knees. I pinned my hair up into a loose bun, and put on some light make-up. I shift my weight from one foot to the other, grateful that I'm only wearing kitten heels, unlike some of the other women. Just then I notice a familiar figure. Frowning, I casually stroll over to the same painting as the person.

"Hello Kaldur," I say, staring straight ahead. I can see him gazing at me out of the corner of my eye.

"Kate. You look lovely tonight," he says softly.

"Save it," I hiss. "I'm going to say my piece, and then I'm leaving. Why you gave Nightwing that tip, I don't know, but I don't really care. You left me. I loved you. I was ready to spend the rest of my life with you. And you left. Because your old love died and your father turned out to be Black Manta. Big whoop. It's no excuse to just leave everyone that cared about you." He opens his mouth to speak, but I furiously cut him off. "And don't apologize either. I'll never forgive you, not after what you've done. And I…" my voice trails off as I spot Savage weaving through the crowd, headed towards a plain door marked 'Employees Only.' Frowning, I follow, Kaldur behind me. "Go away," I mutter. "I have a job to do." He grabs my hand, pulling me to a halt. I glare into his gray eyes before looking down at our joined hands, mine pale, his dark and webbed. "Let go," I say, giving a half-hearted tug.

"No. Savage is a dangerous criminal, and I refuse to let you go after him alone. At least call in for back-up," he pleads.

"In case you haven't noticed, we're in Paris, France. Back-up will take too long. Now let go!" I reply.

"Then I'm going with you," he says with a determined look.

"Whatever," I mutter, rolling my eyes. I head towards the door I saw Vandal go through a few minutes ago. When I enter, I realize it's a service hallway, gray and dingy, not meant for the public's eyes. I follow the hall, Kaldur always two steps behind me. As we go deeper and deeper, I realize something. "This goes to the vaults, doesn't it?" I murmur. I pick up my pace slightly, hoping to catch Vandal in the act. Just then I hear footsteps and voices, talking about night shifts. Guards. I freeze, but Kaldur doesn't. He pushes me against the wall, and kisses me. My arms automatically wrap around his shoulders as I kiss him back. I feel weak, and I cling to Kaldur even more. I've missed this so much. Not kissing in particular, although I like it (Kaldur tastes like the ocean), but being part of something more than yourself. Not being 'her,' but being 'them.' This is how the guards find us, as a couple just looking for a private spot. They kindly escort us back to the party, Kaldur's arm around my waist, me blushing. As soon as they're gone, I turn on him.

"What was that for?" I practically shout. Noticing the looks we're getting, I lower my voice. "Why did you kiss me?" My eyes search his face for the answer.

"We needed an excuse to be there, so I made one," he replies, looking down. My heart falls. Wrong answer.

"Well it was a lousy excuse," I mutter before turning to search the crowd. Seeing no one resembling Vandal, I head outside. I breathe deeply, grateful for the fresh air. I head out of the complex to the Jardins de Tuileries across the street. I sit down on a bench and look at the moon, nearly full. Someone sits down beside me, and I know it's Kaldur. "What now?" I ask.

"I would like to apologize for earlier. It was wrong of me to-" I cut him off by gently placing my lips on his in a short, chaste kiss.

"Just don't mess with people's emotions next time," I whisper before standing up. I hear a car door slam, and my head whips around. There's a nondescript black car parked on the side of the street. I can't make out the driver, but in the back is Vandal Savage. He sees me, and smugly holds up a black box that looks like it would hold jewelry. The car drives off, and I turn back around, furious.

"This was all a set-up, wasn't it? Wasn't it?!" I scream at Kaldur, who looks shocked. "How could you do this to me!" I turn, growling. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," I say to myself. "Why'd you trust him? Never trust a villain." My scolding is cut off when Kaldur places his hand on my shoulder and looks at me with his sad gray eyes.

"Kate, I'm truly sorry, I didn't-"

"Don't do this! Don't you dare apologize!" I whisper hotly, tears forming in my eyes. "Because every time you do, I miss you even more, and I fall in love with you all over again!" His eyes widen. "There I said it! I still love you!" Turning, I scream at the top of my lungs. "I'm still in love with Kaldur! A turncoat and traitor! But I still love him!" I start to storm off, but Kaldur grabs my hand.

"The real reason I kissed you was because I miss you too," he whispers. It's too much. A sob breaks loose, and Kaldur drops my hand and moves as if to hug me.

"No, just stay away. Stay away," I say, stumbling backwards. I turn on my heel and run off, my vision blurred by tears beginning to fall. I run until I reach the zeta tube, run through the cave, and I don't stop until I'm in Kaldur's old room, where I curl up on his bed and cry myself to sleep.

**Ariana's POV:**

I'm sitting on the couch reading _The Odyssey_ while Megan is making breakfast and yapping about her personal life. I just zone her out. But what really bugs me is the weird glare Batgirl is giving me. I sense someone coming, glancing out of the corner of my eye, I see Kate in the doorway. Her eyes were red and puffy. Really, again? I sigh. Still reading, I tap the couch beside me. She notices and sits down.

_"Tell me what happened," _I say telepathically. She looks taken aback.

_"What are you talking about?"_ I gave her a sideways glance and raised an eyebrow.

_"Oh please, I'm a master at this. Your eyes are red and puffy." _Kate sighed.

_"I saw Kaldur last night."_

_"And?"_

_"And...I yelled at him. And we kissed. Then I yelled at him again. Oh and Vandal Savage has some jewels from the Louvre." _I roll my eyes.

_"Really? You're still upset over that?" _Kate glares at me.

_"Well I wasn't, but then he kissed me!_ _And said that he missed me!" _I'm silent. Okay, let's figure this out. My mind races. I give her a stern look.

_"Look. I've been in this situation before. Being a villain. And if he's acting like this, then he isn't one of the truly evil villains. He still has some good. And if you're still hung up on him, then that's okay, but you don't have to take it this seriously. What I'm saying is, you don't have to be so upset over this. You're strong, I know you are. Stronger than me actually. So you need to move past this...alright."_

Kate gives a weak smile. _"Thanks. You know exactly what to say."_ Reaching over she hugs me. I become shocked, so did everyone else.

_"I advise that you not to lose your head over a guy, the most important trait you should seek is the strength within yourself." _Kate laughs and lets go.

"True," she says normally. I smile, but it quickly fades. Something doesn't seem right, so I continue reading my book. Suddenly something comes flying towards the side of my face. I catch it with two fingers before it strikes my cheek. Kate yelps. I glanced at the thin object between my fingers, it's a Batarang. A smirk appeared from the corner of my lips.

"Failed again Bat Boy." I heard him crackle in the distance. I saw him leaning on the door frame.

"I thought you wouldn't get this one," he said in a cocky voice. I roll my eyes, and threw the Batarang at the door frame, almost hitting his cheek. His eyes widen.

"Try again in a few hours, I'll still catch it."

He doesn't look pleased, "Whatever Arie." He turns on his heel and walks away.

Poor Kate she looks so confused, "What just happened?"

I laugh at her innocence, "Bat Boy is testing me, seeing my reflexes. It's quite annoying though, I mean he did it all day yesterday and now today? That guy doesn't give up."

Kate pouts, _"I'm crying my guts out while she's flirting with Nightwing." _

"I resent that!" I bark at her. She gives that caught expression. _"We are not flirting," _I say.

Kate smiles, "Yeah sure..." I could hear the hint of sarcasm in her voice. My eyes narrow, and my aura becomes threatening. Kate backs away a little, Batgirl butts in.

"Kerli," I look over at her, "do you have this thing for Nightwing?"

I stare at her dumbfounded, "I what?"

She just rolls her eyes in distaste, "Never mind."

I shoot Kate a confused look, she just shrugs. Megan finally said breakfast was ready, suddenly everyone was in the kitchen. I raise an eyebrow, and Kate laughs. "It's always like that." I slam my book closed making her jump.

"I'm not really hungry at the moment," I say getting up from the couch. Kate gives me a worried look. I know she knows it not like of me to miss a meal, since I'm a huge glutton. Well to her I am...and it's true. I bet she can guess she's not the only one here suffering from their own problems. Not even me in particular, I can sense that everyone one here is suffering in their own way. But I have to deal with my problems alone, and I know they can't be solved. _"I'll be in the library if you need me," _I tell her. She just simply nods in reply.

I walk out of the room and to the library. I'm about to reach for the doorknob untilthere is a sharp pain in my head. Flashes begin to play in my head. I see a boy around the age of sixteen with golden hair and eyes, and a girl around fourteen with bleach blonde hair and bright blue eyes. "Arie...," the boy whispers. My eyes shoot open, and I grit my teeth. I have a bad feeling about this.

**The future is in the past! (I'll give a secret prize to anyone who can guess what show that is from!) Any-who, hoped you liked the chapter! And if you have any questions please don't be shy, review and ask. Well just review period. Also the quote, "I advise that you...blah blah blah seek self-strength blah blah." Is not mine. It actually comes from the awesome manga (game also), Heart no Kuni no Alice (Alice in the country of Hearts) Sunflower wanted me to give credit for that...so I did. Also can anyone guess what those song lyrics are from in the top author's note :D? Also secret prize to who figures it out. Oh last thing... REVIEW because I own all of your souls! Dictator out.**

**sunflower: Yeah, KaldurxKate drama! Hope you enjoyed it. You should tell us in a review. Seriously, we're addicted to them.**


	8. 7: Cursed Nightmares

**I am very disappointed, people have not gotten the quotes yet *sigh* and that I don't have Internet still! It's horrible! Any-who if you do get the quotes in chap. 6 there is a secret prize. A prize that contains any secret you want to know about the fic. Yes yes spoilers. So if you guess this wonderful prize will be yours, because knowledge is the greatest gift of all. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, I just feed Harley Quinn's hyenas. **

I hate my life. Nightwing said the two words I hate the most, training session. It's so boring! I already know the ropes to this...well I bet in Nightwing's mind I'm just his shiny new toy and he wants to show me off. Well I like to be kept in the box thank you very much. Right now Megan is fighting Jaime, and it's close combat. I haven't gone into a close combat battle since the six days I've been here, and I need to hit something quick!

Another headache hits me; I'm really starting to hate these things. But this vision is different than the one I got yesterday. It's Kate? Her face is mostly shadowed, the vision is blurry so I can't make it out well. Something snaps me back to reality, it's Bat Boy's voice. I come back to my senses, and look at his confused face. "Sorry, can you please repeat that."

He gave me a faint smile, "Yeah, you're up."

"Really? Who am I fighting?"

Bat Boy nods toward Conner. Of course it's him, I sigh and walk onto the platform. He stands opposite of me, Conner is the strongest member, physically, on the team. But he's no match for me, I scan his expression. Completely serious. Nightwing's thoughts enter my mind, _"Arie this is your first combat practice. So just focus on trying not to get beat up too badly alright."_

I laugh, _"Oh I'm not worried at all, I know the outcome of this already."_

He looks confused, but just then the buzzer goes off. I close my eyes to focus, I need to read his movement. He runs towards me, fist ready to make contact. My eyes shoot open. Quickly, I jump up in the air, he runs under me, confused. I land behind him. He spins around, but it's too late, I've already made my move, I round kick him in the face. He stumbles back, clearly out of it. He tries to make a comeback by trying to punch me in the face. Sadly it's a not an effort in my book. I give him a quick smirk, and quickly dodge my upper body to the side. Panic shows on his face realizing the battle is over. My expression becomes serious, I duck low and do a low round kick at his feet. He falls backwards, but before he hits the ground I slam my fist into his chest making him slam hard into the ground. The buzzer goes off, making me the victor.

I straighten and offer my hand to help him up. He gives me a dirty look and rejects the offer. I look back at the team and their jaws are hitting the ground, even Bat Boy.

"That was AWESOME!" yells Beast Boy. I laugh.

"How did you do that?" Kate asks completely shocked.

"Practice?"

"Are those your moves from your vigilante days?" Bumblebee asks.

"Vigilan-What!?" Nightwing moves in fast, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"Arie never did vigilante work," he gives me a wink and I smile in reply. I'm happy that he and Kate are keeping my secret that I was actually a villain. I realize he still has his arm around me, I look at his arm and then back at him. He gets the message and quickly removes his arm, his face becoming a little red.

"How did you learn those moves?" Megan asks.

I rub the back of my neck nervously, "I taught myself..."

"So you've never done any hero work?" Connor asks.

I look over at him and he gives me a suspicious look. My eyes narrow back at him, and he gets the idea I'm clearly hiding something. "Yeah, I never did hero work before."

"Then how did Nightwing find you?" Jaime asks.

Nightwing becomes nervous, "Ummmm...Google?"

The team doesn't get it, but I start to cackle. He smiles back at me. _"Google?" _I whisper telepathically to him.

He shrugs, _"It's the only thing I could think of, give me a break."_

I shake my head, "You're crazy."

"Ahhh, I think you got that wrong, because you're the crazy one."

I shrug.

"True," I say honestly.

"I'm serious!" Jamie exclaims.

"He found me and then took me under his wing," I answer Jamie. He just nods. Kate gives me a faint smile.

Practice was finally over, but Nightwing calls after me. I stop in my tracks looking back at him. He catches up and stands in front of me.

"What do you want Bat Boy?"

"I wanted to ask you about your abilities."

I raise an eyebrow, "What about them?"

"Did you really teach yourself to fight like that?"

I smile and lower my voice so only we could hear, "Well when you grow up in the hood area of Gotham City you need to learn self-defense."

He smirks, "What else?"

"I can take memories from you if I touch you. Like if I touch you," I touch his hand lightly, he looks taken aback. "I can process your memories to learn anything you know. So I can steal your moves in a blink of any eye." His eyes widen and he pulls away from me.

I giggle at him, "Don't worry I can do it at will and I didn't do anything to you so relax. Besides I respect private matters within the mind. So I won't go peeking unless told to."

He advert his eyes away from mine. "I see," he says, disappointed.

I stare deeply at his face until he looks back at me. He caught on, "What?"

"You seem disappointed?"

He looks offended. "I am not," he sounds like he's lying.

A thought of his reaches my mind, a smile appears from the corners of my lips. I start to softly giggle. "What's so funny?" he asks me.

I glare back at him, smiling. "Oh nothing," I press a finger to my lips, "Your secret is safe with me."

His eyes widen, and he stares at me dumbfounded. I wink at him and walk away. He finally catches on and chases after me.

**ooooooo **

It's dark and I'm surrounded in shadows. But a voice calls out to me, it's Kate's. Then I heard a blood-chilling scream, and my heart stops.

"KATE!" I run towards the sound of screaming. The shadows turn into a creepy forest with trees hitting me in the face, but I keep on running. I come to a clearing, with Kate standing in the middle, tears running down her pale skin. She's bleeding, I try to run to her aid but it felt like I was running through water. I reach out to her, but a wall of fire suddenly appears, surrounding her. She screams. No! The ground begins to shake and it starts to cave in. The ground falls apart under her feet, I reach over, the flames burning me. I grab onto her hand as she dangles over the edge. Tears run down our cheeks.

"Let go of me," she whispers.

"No! I don't want anyone else in my life to die!"

"Don't you know they all died because you could have save them!"

"YOU'RE LYING! I WILL SAVE YOU!" The tears start to blur my vision.

"You're a murderer and you kill everyone you meet."

I shake my head violently, "YOU'RE LYING!"

"You only hurt the people you love!"

"YOU DON'T THINK I KNOW THAT! Please I don't want you to die...you're the only one I have left."

Stop...stop...stop making me suffer!

Her eyes are like moons, so big and beautiful. But mine are the color of rusty blood, pain-stricken. I'm surprised that this cold heart still beats with pain. I feel her fingers become loose.

"Good-bye." My eyes widen as she unlaces her finger from mine.

"NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I scream her name as the girl I love falls to her death before my eyes.

**ooooooo**

My eyes shoot open, I sit up as I scream at the top of my lungs. I pant like crazy when I'm finished, I can't stop trembling. I look around frantically to see where I am, darkness that's all I see. Only a tiny light from my bathroom door. But I'm in my gothic style room at Mount Justice, the sheets and covers on my bed were all over the place. I must have thrashed violently this time. I look down at my shaking hands and all I see is blood. My tainted hands. I press my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around them. I bury my face into my knees, sobbing.

When will this curse end! I was expecting this though, it's been seven days since I haven't had a nightmare. I don't have dreams like normal people, I have nightmares. It's my curse for the horrible crime I committed, the League gave me this curse. To relive my crime of existence in my dreams. Seeing my loved ones die before my eyes every night. This time it was Kate, last time it was Artemis and look what happened to her!

I bolt from my bed and run into the bathroom, I run the cold water from the sink, and I splash it onto my face, it feels so cold. I shake my head, and I glare at myself into the mirror. Kate's sad, stricken face appears in the mirror. My heart stops, I scream and stumble backwards tripping on the rug. I fall back, hitting my head on the wall behind me.

I grab the shower curtains for support to help me up, but they rip making me fall. I decide to grab onto the edge of the sink and I pull myself up.

Kate's sad face is still in the mirror, "You killed me." Her voice sounds like ghost, so whimsical.

I shake my head, tears threatening. "No," I whisper softly.

She starts to cry blood, and her pale skin turns gray, she looks frightening. "YOU KILLED ME," she says in a demonic voice.

"SHUT UP!" I slam my fist into the mirror, cracking it. Blood starts to drip down my hand and arm. I look down at my bleeding hand as it drips down my arm. I look back at the mirror, she is gone but something even more frightening has taken her place. Me. My murderous eyes fill the glass, I touch the glass as my bleeding fingertips run down the mirror. Hot tears run down my face, I climb into the bathtub and rock myself back and forwards. Crying until dawn.

**oooooo**

I walk out into the kitchen, seeing Megan cooking. My eyes have dark circles under them, I only got two hours of sleep last night. It's a good thing I wear a lot of black eyeliner, you can't tell. I hop up on the counter, Megan looks over. I stop breathing for a moment, for a moment she looked like Martian Man Hunter. The man that gave me this curse.

"Kerli!" her voice snaps me back.

"What!" I bark angrily.

She holds up a plate, I just shrug. She puts breakfast on the plate, it's eggs and grits (she must have gotten the recipe from Kate). But all I see is blood, I look way and push it aside.

"I'm not hungry." She looks disappointed.

I hear someone walk in, I look to see who it is. It's Kate, she looks like she just woke up. She's alive! Guilt washes over me but I don't care. I bolt out of my seat and attack her with a huge hug. She stumbles back as I hold on tightly. "What's this for?"

I just shake my head, "It's nothing."

I hear her softly giggle. I let go of her, and I see her smiling face. But it still burns inside of me, the murderous dream still haunts my memory. But I just smile back at her.

I see Nightwing in the doorway, _"We need to talk."_

I just nod, I turn back to Kate. "I'll catch up with you later."

"Alright," she turns and walks off to get breakfast. I follow Nightwing into the main hall.

"What is it?" I ask. He turns his attention to the screens and a picture pops up. It's a man around his early twenties, and he has shoulder length golden hair and eyes. I know him.

"Your first mission."

"What?!"

He smiles, "The reason I hired you is your background with villains. So I thought you could be my little spy."

"So you still want me to be a villain but I'm actually working for you?"

He nods, "And your first target to spy on and gain his trust is this man..."

"Chris Evans, aka Midas. He is a notorious mob boss in Gotham," I interrupt him. I stared deeply at the picture on the screen.

He stands there shocked and confused. "Do you know him?"

I nod, "Unfortunately he's my ex."

**Drama bomb! Hehe well hoped you liked it, I'll update soon. REVIEW! **

**Dictator out.**

**sunflower: Hey! Just like to clarify something. Which would be: Ariana loves Kate as a friend, nothing more. Just wanted to let you know. Same with Artemis in case you were wondering. This is not a slash! Review!**


	9. 8: Midas

**Never watch ATLA the movie with sunflower...she will rant about all the errors for three hours! **

**I have Internet! Hurray, its funny cuz the day I post chap. 7 I get Internet. The world is funny like that. And now I get to introduce one of my many wonderful OC's! I hope you like him Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice. I do own Chris (Midas), and Ashlynn (Cupid). I just convinced Zatanna she got into Hogwarts.**

I walk down the sidewalk of Gotham City, the only sound I hear is the clicking of my heels on the concrete and my black trench coat flapping in the cool breeze. I look around constantly, spotting a few hobos here and there that glare at me like I'm their next meal. The moon is my only light, since it's around midnight and there are no street lamps in the hood area of Gotham City.

I turn into an alleyway, the one me and Chris would always meet up at. I walk until I hear a sound, I sense someone behind me. I whip around my fist ready for impact, but someone grabs my arm before I hit them.

I see a pair of glowing golden eyes staring at me. He's only a few inches taller than me, and his hair looks like long strings of gold hitting him at his shoulders. A smile appears from his lips.

"Well hello there Birdy," I could hear a little of a British accent in his voice.

I blush, "Chris!" He lets go of my arm and shoves his gloved hands into his pockets.

"It's been awhile since I've seen you."

I rub the back of my neck nervously, "Yeah prison sort of does that."

He laughs, "You haven't changed a bit."

I give off a faint smile, "It's good to see you again." He moves a bit closer to me, inches from face. He reaches for my face, and gently touches it. I can feel the cool leather against my skin. His eyes gleam in the moonlight.

"You look as beautiful as ever, even more so in the moonlight."

I advert my eyes away from his, "Please don't say things like that."

He drops his hand, "Why do I embarrass you?"

I shoot him a look, "Maybe you do!"

He takes a step back, and holds up his hands in defense. He has a smug look on his face. I roll my eyes, he laughs. He drops his hands and slips them back into his pockets. "I was surprised to get a call from you, since you were in prison and all."

"I broke out and I wanted to see you first."

"What about your little friend from Central City?"

I look down at my feet, "I don't want him to worry."

He just nods in understanding. "Well he would really understand anyway."

I glance up at him, "I hear you're a mob boss now?"

His eyes are cold, but always have a twinkle of interest in them. "Yep, knocked Penguin back to the zoo where he belongs."

I have an unsteady feeling about this. I've always been able to let my guard down and talk freely with Chris, but he scares me too much.

"How's Ashlynn?" I ask him. Ashlynn is his younger sister. Me, Chris, Ashlynn (aka Cupid), and our friend Roger Tetch (aka White Rabbit), were a gang here in Gotham. All of us had some family problems or broken homes. We stole and conned people for money, we would even help out the bigger villains here in Gotham. Of course we were all close, until Roger moved off to college. Then it was just the three of us, but then I got thrown in jail. I felt bad for abandoning them, Chris and Ashlynn were orphaned. But now, I don't know.

He smiles and he sees I still care for them, "She's well. She works for Poison Ivy now, she really loves it."

I smile back, "Well that's good."

He reaches for a strand of my hair, holding it up to his face. His eyes shut as he presses his lips onto my hair. I don't know what to make of this. He glares down at me, his eyes have a murderous intent in them.

"Why did you betray me Ariana?" His voice is so cold I shudder. I try to back away, but he grabs my hair.

His grip tightens. "Ow!" I yell at him. I look up at his face, he looks like a coldhearted killer. Which he is.

"Why did you lie to me?"

"I didn't lie to you!" I bark back at him.

A smirk appears from the corners of his lips, "Then how do you explain your rejected offer from The Light. I mean, why would you a villain like yourself reject it?" His eyes narrow, "Unless you're not a villain anymore."

My blood runs cold. Chris cocks his head to the side, "What's wrong Birdy? You look pale." I try to pull away but someone grabs me from behind. I squirm around trying to break free, but something distracts me. A large black van pulls up in front of the entrance of the alleyway. Suddenly a white cloth covers my mouth and nose. I feel my energy fading away, my eyes begin to flutter close.

What...what's going on. All I can make out is Chris, but he's all blurry. I hear a clicking noise, and I see him leaning in. I feel his soft golden hair brush against my face, and his lips press against my neck for a kiss. He jabs something into my side, it feels like a needle. I flinch in pain. He's injecting something into me, and whatever it is it's working. I can barely open my eyes, I'm so sleepy. He pulls away from me, and he turns his attention to the van.

"Load her into the van," he orders. His voices sounds distorted, like he's talking in slow motion. He turns back to me and I can make out a smile, "Night night Birdy." I give in and my eyes flutter close.

**Nightwing's POV: **

I'm starting to get quite annoyed with Ariana right now, why won't she answer her phone! I'm sitting on my bed with the phone pressed to my ear; all I hear is the ringing of the phone to connect us. I've called twice now and she's not picking up. I hear the connection going through, and I hear rummaging on the other side. Anger surges through me, how dare she ignore me.

"Arie! Answer your phone when I'm calling you!" I yell at her.

I hear someone clear their throat, "I'm sorry but Ariana can't come to the phone right now." My heart stops for a moment, that's not her voice. It's a man's! I grit my teeth, I know that voice.

"Midas! What have you done to Ariana!" It's not like of me to lose my cool but it's just something inside of me is making me feel so protective of her?

I hear him laughing on the other end. "You crack me up Nightwing, I knew she was working with some hero but I didn't expect it to be you."

"Well believe it Midas."

"I see... You know you're not the smartest bat in the cave, because I thought it was strange that Birdy was out of prison. Since it was a LIFE SENTENCE! Even she knew that! But she lied on your orders getting herself caught!"

I ball up my fist ready to punch something. "I swear if you harm a single hair on her head..."

"You'll what," he interrupts, "What will you do?"

"Oh you don't want to know what I'll do." He's silent for a few moments.

"Where is she?!" I say in a threatening tone.

"Ohhhh, the Bat Brat is so scary."

"WHERE IS SHE!"

I hear a deep growl from Midas. "Relax...she's perfectly fine, she's in my custody."

I relax a bit, at least she's alright. "But," I hear Midas continue to say, "I'm taking back what's mine."

My eyes widen, "What are you talking about?"

"You're cruel to steal my property from me, I mean Ariana does belong to me."

"What! She's a human being! She doesn't belong to anyone!"

He laughs. "Not in that aspect as a thing or land, but as a lover," I get what he's saying, "She has been mine before you even meet her, Nightwing. So I'm taking her back with me!"

"I won't let you, she doesn't deserve a life of crime again." I can tell I made him angry.

"How would you know what she wants! You barely even know her!"

"You're right I haven't known her that long compared on how long you've known her but I know she wouldn't want that! I won't let you make her suffer."

He growls, "You have no right to interfere in this!"

"I have every right! And I'm getting her back no matter what."

He chuckles, "It's so entertaining to see you like this, but I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Because I will make her scream, so if you really care for her stay out of my way!" The phone hangs up. Anger surges through me, and I crush the phone in my hand. Ariana...

**I know it's early for the feelings to start but I just had to! The fluff monster inside of me was just begging to come out! And to be honest I can't stand love triangles! I mean just pick a guy! The next chapter you'll see more of Midas's dark evil side. Also please REVIEW, I like your opinions/thoughts! **

**So stay tuned for the exciting adventures of Ariana & Kate!**

**Dictator out... **

**sunflower: Some things I'd like to explain: Midas called Ariana Birdy because her villain (and now hero) name is Merlin, which is a type of hawk. It was his pet name for her when they were dating. And no, Ariana will not choose Midas, for all you worrywarts out there. And Midas will get what's coming to him :) **


	10. 9: The Price for a Secret

**Grrrrr I hate being sick it sucks! Anyway... ****I have become a Jason Todd fan. Omg Red Hood is such a BOSS! What bugs me is that they (the Young Justice writers) totally skipped Jason! I mean completely skipped him, didn't even mention the guy! He was the Robin after Dick, but no they skip him and use Tim which is the Robin after Jason! (By the way I love Tim he's awesome! Have nothing against him.) Well he's pretty important, he became one of Batman's greatest failures! I mean I don't know he did get BEAT TO DEATH WITH A CROWBAR BY THE JOKER AND BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE THEN BECOMING AN ANTIHERO! That's pretty important! At least put him in Young Justice as a plot twist!...**

**I'm sorry about the ranting fangirl came out. But I'm completely serious about this. And If you haven't seen Batman Under the Red Hood, you should see it. Because it's epic mind blowing stuff! It has Jason and Dick, I love Dick in that movie lol he's so funny! Neil Patrick Haris is Dick's voice :D Whoo! Anyway Enjoy the story. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, I just help Mal with command central.**

Why do I feel like I've been hit with a ton of bricks? What happened to me? My eyes begin to flutter open, I feel warm. Whatever I'm lying on is soft and comfortable. I just want to curl up and fall asleep again. I feel something petting my head. It's nice.

I glance around the room, it's fancy like a penthouse. The room is filled with expensive furniture and everything is lined with gold. There's a huge window replacing the wall in front of me, it shows Gotham's skyline.

I turn on my back, and I can make out a figure above me. I focus on it, and I see Chris's vampire-like face. My eyes widen, I remember what happened. Chris kidnapped me, and now I'm lying on his lap while he's petting my head! I also realize that my coat is gone, and my dress is exposed. It's a short black long sleeve dress, but the collar is low...I'm not liking this. Ah! Kate why did you suggest this dress, Chris is such a pervert!

I sit up immediately, but something comes over me. I begin to lose energy and I feel sleepy. I fall back into Chris's arms, and my head rests on his chest. What's going on?

"There, there," he whispers, still petting my head, "The poppy serum hasn't worn off yet." My eyes shoot open, HE DRUGGED ME! I react fast, and I start pushing him away. Slapping him in the face, trying to get away.

"Birdy stop it!" he yells.

"No get away!" I manage to get off of him. I make it on my feet and bolt my way to the other side of the room. He gets up from the couch we were sitting on. I pick up a pillow in defense...yes a pillow. "I have a pillow and I'm not afraid to use it!"

He raises an eyebrow, "Ariana?" I hold it up ready to throw, and he takes a step forward towards me. I throw it at him, unfortunately he dodges. I pick up another pillow, Chris pulls off one of his leather gloves exposing his hand. My heart stops, he wouldn't dare!

Chris has the ability to turn anything he touches into stone, but only for a limited amount of time. It wears off, but still being a lifeless object for that amount of time. I shudder at the thought. He takes a step closer, "Ariana don't make me use this." I give him a stern look and throw the pillow at him. He grabs it and it turns to stone.

I keep grabbing things around me, and throwing them at him. But he always comes one step closer to me.

I grab a vase, "This is for kidnapping me!" It turns to stone. I pick up a lamp.

"This is for being such a pervert!" he grabs it and it falls to the ground with the others. I pick up a metal chair...where did this come from? But I notice I am face to face with Chris. His golden eyes staring deeply into my maroon ones. Anger surges through me, "AND THIS IS FOR BREAKING MY HEART!" I slam the chair on his head, I feel like a wrestler. He stumbles to the ground. He holds his head and gives me a confused look. I huff at him, he catches on. He gives me that smug look on his face like he always does.

"Well I can't help it that I have moves like Jagger?"

That's it! I start to hit him with the chair continually. "You're. Not. Helping!" He grabs the chair, turning it into stone. I quickly let go of it before it spread onto me. He gets up and glares at me, now being serious. He slips his glove back on. "Look I never meant to hurt you like that."

Tears start to form in my eyes, "What dumping me for some other chick! Throwing me on the curb like I was trash!"

Grief washes over his face, and he steps closer to me. I try to back away but I bump into a wall. Chris blocks my way of escape, I glare angrily at him. But it quickly fades away as I look at his big golden puppy-dog eyes. I grit my teeth, Chris knows me too well. I try to advert my eyes from his but he just keeps getting closer. Eventually his forehead brushes on mine. I look up at him, and he leans in. His lips brush against mine, and I feel his gloved hand makes its way to caress the back of my neck. I start to feel weak, like I always do when I kiss him. I give in and kiss him back, I really did miss him...

I wrap my arms around his neck, leaning in to get closer. But this doesn't feel right...what am I doing! I pull away from him, trying to escape from his arms. I do and walk away from him, but I sense something strange about Chris. I rapidly turn around to face him, but I can't read that cold murderous expression of his. He steps closer, I shake my head. "Stay away."

But he ignores me. "You're so cruel to me Ariana."

"What do you mean?" I try to hide the fact that my voice cracked.

"It's not like I don't know about that hero of yours."

I freeze, what! What is he talking about, "I...I don't understand."

"Nightwing of course." How! How does he know about that!

"How...?"

"I have my way of finding information," he says coldly.

"Well what does that have to do with anything!"

"Everything! Are you a villain or are you a hero! Tell me!"

"I'm neutral!" I shout.

He was taken aback, "Neutral?"

"Yes, I'm not a villain or a hero."

His face darkens, "I see...but you still take that Bat Brat over me!"

I stare at him dumbfounded, "Well I don't want to hurt anymore people! I want these nightmares to go away!"

I could tell that didn't fly so well with him, "You don't think I know that! He knows nothing about you, yet you trust him so freely! I know what you go through! The pain, the struggle, the nightmares, the curses, and the rejection!" He grabs onto me, I pull back away from him. Unfortunately he rips of one of the sleeves off my dress. He tightens his grip on the loose fabric in his hand.

He pulls out a knife, and swings at me. It cuts my face right under my left eye. I fall back onto the wooden floor. I glare up at Chris with horror in my eyes. He raises the knife above me, with those cold murderous eyes of his glaring back down at me.

His eyes soften and he drops the knife, he falls to ground. He looks at me, he reaches for my face. I flinch when he touches me, but all he does is wipes the dripping blood away from my face.

"Tell you what," he whispers, "I'll keep your secret about working with heroes from the other villains if…"

"If what?"

He gives me a cold look, his thoughts enter my mind. I'm stricken with horror, I start to shake my head violently, no...no...NO! I scurry away from him, but he grabs me. He picks me up, but I'm flailing all over the place. He throws me onto the bed and pins me down.

I look up at his determined face, I squirm trying to break from his grasp. "Chris let me go!" He ignores me and leans in closer. I snap at him, "Chris I'm warning you stop it now!" He starts to unzip my dress, alright you asked for it. I slam my head right into his nose. He flails back, clutching his nose. He looks back at me, he looks down at his hand and I see that his nose is bleeding. I sit up crossing my legs on the bed, so he won't get any more ideas.

"Birdy!" he yells.

I huff at him angrily, "Well you deserved it! I think that mob boss thing has finally got to your head!"

He looks back at me, with his golden eyes filled with tears, I sigh. He will still be the same old Chris. "I'm not forgiving you!"

"But Birdy?" he coos. I give him a stern look, and look away in annoyance. Next thing I know he is sitting next to me on the bed. I put my defenses up, he just glares back at me and I know the Chris I know is back and the perverted one is locked up.

"I'm sorry I wasn't thinking straight," he says with a ton of apology.

I slap him in the face, "You never think you idiot!"

He nods, "You're right this mob boss thing is getting to my head."

I sigh, "No you've always be like this."

He faintly smiles, "True."

We sit there awkwardly. "Have any nightmares?" he asks.

I nod. "About what?" he asks.

"People dying like always," tears started to form. He leans in closer to me, and I lay my head on his chest. "It's horrible."

"I know," he softly whispers. I looked down at his gloved hand, and he stretches the hem in a nervous habit like he always does. I'm not the only one who is cursed. I like the fact that we share the same pain, it means I'm not alone in this fight of life. "Does _he _know?" Chris asks.

I look up at him, "No."

He just nods, "Did he break you out of your cage?"

I shake my head, "Someone else released me. He just found a poor broken winged bird on the ground, and took it under his wing."

"I see," he says quietly.

We sit there for a few minutes until he breaks the silence, "I'll keep your secret."

"You will?"

He nods, "With no charge."

"Why the change of heart?"

"If I look back on it, you've always have been there for me and I just want you to be happy. I thought working with these heroes wouldn't make you as happy as you were with me. I was just being selfish, and it's clear to me now that you've moved on. Besides you like that Bat Brat now..."

"What! I do not! We're just friends."

"Right...to him it didn't sound like you two were just friends."

My eyes widen, "What do you mean by that."

He realizes what he said, "Oh nothing."

I give him the evil eye, he just shrugs. I give in, he's not going to tell me either way. He leans in closer. "Hey," he whispers.

"What?"

"Love you." I smile as he leans his head on my shoulder.

I just roll my eyes, "Love you too." He leans over and kisses me on the cheek.

"You're pushing it," I growl. He quickly backs away.

There's suddenly a knock at the door, "Midas!" It sounds like a minion of his.

"I'll be there soon," he harshly replies. He turns towards me and raises an eyebrow. _"Well you better get going...," _he holds out his hands to make them look like claws, _"before I decide to rape you again!" _He says jokingly. I elbow him in the stomach.

_"Not funny!" _

He laughs. "_I know,"_ he becomes all serious, _"We'll still say in touch right?"_

I give him a faint smile, _"Of course..."_

He raises an eyebrow, _"Promise?"_

I chuckle, _"Promise." _He quickly leads over and kisses me in a short chaste kiss. I blush as I look at his big sad golden eyes. "Chris," I softly whisper.

He nods his head towards the window, "You better getting going Birdy."

I just nod in reply, I leap off the bed and bolt to window. I slide it open, I hop onto the balcony. I look back at Chris, he just glares at me with that puppy dog look. _"Nightwing is letting the Birdy out of her cage?"_

I smirk, _"He has no idea." _I leap off the edge into the black abyss below.

I walk out of the zeta tube of the cave. I look around to see if anybody was there, unfortunately there was Nightwing standing right in front of me. He looks shocked at my appearance, well I would be too if you saw me. I have ripped clothes and a bleeding cut under my left eye. I hear someone walk in, it's Kate. She stops in her tracks when she sees me. A confused/worried look appears on her face. I roll my eyes, and walk on.

Nightwing reaches out to touch me, but I just grab his hand. I sense his thoughts. I give him a sympathetic glare, and a faint smile.

"I can take care of myself." Hot tears start to run down my cheek, I wrap my arms around him in a hug. "Thank you for worrying about me," I whisper so only we could hear. I let go and bolt to my room before either one could respond.

**Yes yes fluff I know I'm evil! I really feel bad for Chris (Midas) because sunflower totally hates him! *pouts* I absolutely love him as a character. But it's either you love him or hate him. (Well I've always had a thing for villains) So tell us what you think of Midas, because there will more of him later on! And to be clear on one thing, it's totally ArianaxNightwing. Because someone (sunflower!) doesn't like my sort-of attempt of a love triangle! **

**Well sunflower has the next chapter...let's hope Kate doesn't throw Midas off the Wayne Inc. building *crosses fingers*.**

**As you can see he is an unstable character. Between us. No but seriously tell us your thoughts about Midas, REVIEW because I own all of your souls! Dictator out... (will not post new chapter unless I get 5 reviews :D)**

**P.S: When I wrote this chapter I had 13 followers, which is an unlucky number XD! Hahaha, sunflower and I were totally laughing about it. But seriously I'm super happy that people like this story, thanks to all of you who follow and fave me!**

**Sunflower: Hey! Yes, I totally hate Chris, and yes he's going to pay for what he did to Ariana. Revenge is sooooo sweet….**


	11. 10: Flirty Revenge

**Omg! Young Justice came back whoop! And I saw Jason! (Well the hologram version in the grotto of the fallen) but they mentioned him and that makes Cheshire a happy fangirl! Other than that...awesome episode, loved it! So lets get on with the story! (P.S: I like clone Roy better!)**

**AND HOW DARE YOU PEOPLE NOT REVIEW FOR MY STORY (those who do, cyber cookie for you!) I MEAN JUST ONE MORE REVIEW LEFT, ONE! BUT I LOVE Y'ALL SO IM POSTING THIS AND YOU BETTER LIKE IT! YOU BETTER REVIEW, you better...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, I just steal Jamie's Chicken Whizzes with Bart. Hehe**

**Kate's POV**

I watch as Ariana walks from the zeta tube. There's a cut underneath her eye, and her clothes are torn in several places. I frown, wondering what in the world happened on her mission. She and Nightwing touch hands, and hug as she starts to cry. She whispers something to him that I can't make out. She walks off down the hallway, and I follow. Jogging, I catch up to her, stopping her by putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey. What happened back there?" I ask. Sighing, she says nothing, but puts her forehead to mine. A rush of images enter my mind: meeting Midas in an alley, the sleepiness of a drug entering Ariana's body, waking up in Midas's arms, him telling her he won't tell…for a price, him pinning her, her jumping off the balcony. I'm absolutely furious.

"Oh no he's so dead!" I turn on my heel and stomp to my room, Ariana shouting behind me. Ten minutes later I storm through the living room, passing the boys on a couch watching a movie. I can feel them staring at me, and for good reason too. I'm wearing a black tank top, skinny jeans, and heels. I've put on tons of eyeshadow, and straightened my hair, which is loose and reaches the small of my back. I head towards the zeta tube, and as I punch in the coordinates I can hear their whispered conversation.

"Where is she going?" Jaime mutters.

"Well her hair's down, so she's either going on a date or undercover," Conner replies.

"Judging from the look on her face, I'm saying she's going undercover on a personal vendetta," Robin analyzes.

"Well she looks hot!" Garfield says.

"Thanks!" I call over my shoulder before stepping into the blue flash of light. I laugh, practically hearing their blushes. I step out of a derelict phone booth in Gotham. Walking out of the alley, I think on where Midas would be located. Just had a painful reunion with his ex, from the Gotham slums in the first place, although he currently lives in a more uptown area. Most likely he'll be in one of the fancier bars in the area. I wander the streets until I find an old man unlikely to harm me.

"Know any fancy bars around here?" I ask.

"Well I suppose there's The Barnacle, or maybe the Three Crowns. Three Crowns caters mostly to young folks like yourself," he replies.

"Where can I find the Three Crowns?"

"Head down three blocks, take a left, then another left, and it'll be the lit-up building on you right. You sure you don't wanna stay here though?" he gives me a yellowed smile.

"Maybe another time," I say with a laugh and a wink. I walk down the streets, following the man's instructions. I soon arrive at the bar, light, laughter, and music spilling out of the door. I sigh and roll my eyes before walking in. I casually look around before spotting Midas, sitting at a table in the corner, his back to the wall and a drink in his hand. I sashay over, guards materializing out of the shadows, but Midas nods them away. I give him my best smile as I sit down, dragging my (sticky, gross) chair right next to his.

"And what is such a handsome man as yourself doing all alone?" I ask in a sultry tone. He laughs drunkenly.

"My ex came for a visit, and it didn't turn out so well," he mutters. I tilt my head towards his.

"I can kiss the boo boos away," I say in a low voice. He laughs again, this time slightly louder.

"You're very forward. I like that in a girl," he replies. I smile seductively before shifting my weight so I'm sitting in his lap. He leans forward, his breath tickling my ear.

"Hey now, I never said you could do this." I turn my head slightly until our lips meet. I kiss him, and he kisses back, me inwardly grimacing at the taste of beer on his lips. I pull back slightly.

"Still saying no now?" I ask. He grins sloppily.

"I'm thinkin'…do you wanna head back to my place?"

"I'd love it," I murmur, nuzzling his neck. He places his hands on my hips as we stand up. Wrapping his arm around my waist, he walks me out of the bar, me smiling smugly at all of the envious women. He leads me to a sleek black sports car. I run my hand over the hood. "It's pretty fine…just like it's owner," I add, tossing a grin his way. We hop in, and in about fifteen minutes we arrive at his penthouse. We walk into the lobby, him picking me up bridal style as we get in the elevator. I giggle in his ear. He carries me across the room, but I slide out of his grasp. He looks at me in confusion.

I give him a very different smile than the ones I've been giving him. The kind you're afraid of. Stepping forward, I punch him in the face. He reels back, clutching his eye. I step forward again, side kicking him in the ribs. Finally, I grab his arm and straighten it, then apply pressure to his elbow until I hear a snap. He screams. I spin him around and grab his collar.

"You got off lucky this time," I snarl. "Next time you even _look_ at Ariana, you'll end up in a hospital." I shoot him one last dark look before I stroll out of the apartment and back to the zeta. When I come back to the cave, the first thing I see is Ariana pacing back and forth worriedly.

"What did you do?" she practically shouts.

"Relax," I say, carelessly waving my hand in the air. "He only has a black eye, a few cracked ribs, and a broken arm. He'll be fine in a month or so."

"I thought heroes weren't supposed to hurt people!" she wails.

"Wrong," I say, turning and smiling. "We aren't supposed to _kill_. Therefore I'm still in the clear." As I walk back past the boys, they give me scared looks. I just smile and head to my room to change and brush my teeth. I can still taste beer, ugh.

**Sunflower: My favorite chapter so far!**

**Cheshire: *shudder* This chapter disturbs me! Kate kissed Midas! So wrong! But Kate got her revenge, besides sunflower wouldn't be happy if she didn't. But overall I really do like this chapter also. So tell us your thoughts we would like that :D. **

**And shame on all you people who read this and not review! **

**Dictator out! (Like my wonderful Biology teacher say, "This isn't a democracy. It's a dictatorship!" :D )**


	12. 11: Blast from the Past

**OMG DID YOU SEE LAST WEEKS YOUNG JUSTICE! IT BLEW UP, IT BLEW UP! Anyway can't wait until tomorrow for new episode :D**

**Fly plastic bag be free! You know what makes me so mad! That there is no phobia name for hula hoops! Grrrrr! UNACCEPTABLE! ONE MILLION YEARS TO FOREVER ALONENESS! Ha I'm so lame XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, I just help Kaldur blow up mountains...yeah I went there.**

I look up at the tall building in front of me, North Gotham High School. The public school I went to, you know before I when to jail. I sigh, I guess I have to go in. The last place I ever want to be, because I was arrested here.

I climb up the steps of the school and open the double doors of doom. I walk in and see people scurrying around the hallways to their lockers or their next class. I casually walk into the chaos of the school. I see the glares I get from the corner of my eye, but I just look forward, zoning them out. The only thing I hear is the clicking of my heels and the rustle of my long leather coat as a brief case sways at my side.

I bump into something, and I hear books clank to the ground.

"Hey you idiot watch where you're going!" someone barks at me. Correction: make that a somebody. I look to see who it is, and my eyes widen. All I see is a ton of bleach blonde hair and pink, she stands up from picking up her books. She freezes when she makes eye contact with me, her bright green eyes wide with amazement.

"Arie?" I stare at her with displeasure. She gasps and she turns to the girl next to her (since the popular people always travel in packs). "Omg it is her!"

"Yeah it's nice to see you too Nicki," I say with no emotion.

She just gives me a bright white smile, "Omg it is so lol to be running into you!"

"Yeah what are the odds."

She gives me a pouty face, "And prison didn't fix up your fashion sense at all!"

I give her a forced smile, "Yeah prison doesn't do that."

She does an over dramatic gasp, "It must be horrible!"

I just roll my eyes in reply. She cocks her head to the side, "Say, aren't you supposed to be in prison right now?"

I smirk, "I'm on parole." Well it's not all a lie, Bat Boy is sorta my parole officer in a way. And I'm doing community service by helping people.

"Really?" She sounds so interested it's creepy. "Well," she starts to say, "Are you going back to school here?"

I crack up laughing. "You're too funny! Of course not. This place is a death trap!" I become all serious, "Besides why would I go back to you torturing me every day."

The hairs on her arm stands up, but she tries to hind it by giving a little fake laugh. Everything about her is so fake. "You're so funny Arie!"

I give her a fake smile. "Yeah I am," imitating her voice. Her smile fades, and I give her a glare. "Anyway," I say coldly, "can you please move out my way so I get going." She stands there, frustrated with her hands on her hips. I growl and move around her. Her bright green eyes fill with hate as I move past her.

"You're still a freak," she calls after me. I stop in my tracks, and turn around to face the little pest in front of me.

"I'd rather be a freak than normal like you."

She's taken aback momentarily, and huffs in annoyance. "Well at least my parents aren't dead."

I ball up my fists, and grit my teeth. "I'll cut off you're worthless head if you mention my parents again," I say in a low growl.

She turns and runs away to her next class with her poseur little entourage behind her. I smirk. They run away with their tails in between their legs. I turn on my heel and head towards the office to get what I need.

I finally get to the office. I look over the counter to see the secretary. She looks up to see my smiling face. She freezes in disbelief, "Miss Kerli?"

"Yes Miss Gracelin?" I reply in a cheery voice.

"What are you doing here?"

"I have to pick up my school records and papers."

"Oh...of course, but the school usually need those."

"But I don't go to school here anymore."

"Well yes, but it's still school policy."

My eyes narrow I guess I have to do this the hard way. I just give her a cheery smile, "Of course, I understand. Miss Gracelin can you please point to me where the near restroom is?" She just nods and points to a hallway behind her. I give her a smile and head towards the hallway.

I glance at the doors I pass by, I stop at records. The corners of my lips form a smile. I send an illusion of myself to head towards the bathroom, in case Miss Gracelin tracks me down. I open the door to the records room and silently close the door behind me. The lights are turned off, I dig in my pockets for a small flashlight. Ha found it! I click it on and the room is filled with a small amount of light. Time to go to work.

I set my briefcase down on the ground in front of a filing cabinet with the letter K engraved onto it. I kneel down to the ground and click it open. I see my tools. I smile, it's so great to be a thief! I pick up my pair of leather gloves and a paper clip. I slip the gloves on and bite onto the flashlight so I can use my hands freely. I unwind the paper clip into just one long piece of metal. I examine the lock, and I gently slid the paper clip into the lock. I move it around until I hear a click. The cabinet quietly pops open and bingo was his name-o!

I put back the paper clip and put the flashlight into my hands again. I run my fingers through the names of files until I see my name. I grab the file and open it. I skim through it and gently place it in my briefcase right next to my medical records. I don't really want to get into what method I had to do to get them. I quietly close the cabinet and my briefcase. I turn off my flashlight and head towards the door.

I walk back down the hallway and give Miss Gracelin a huge smile, she just smiles back as if nothing happened. I walk out of the school, Merlin strikes again.

I walk down my alleyway of the hood Gotham. I latch onto the fire escape on the left wall of Mr. Win's Chinese Emporium. Best Chinese restaurant ever! I climb up the escape to get to the very top, and there lies the door to my little apartment, I reach above the doorframe for the spare key. Ah there it is! I grab it and unlock the door. I see complete darkness and I sneeze from the dust. I take a step in and slip on all the mail. I look to see who these are from. Bill, bill, bill! All of them are bills! I sigh, really! I'm getting sick of seeing these.

When I lived here, I had to provide for my Grandfather and sometimes myself. It didn't help either that we were dirt poor! So I had to steal and con people for money. I would even gamble because I was good at it. Every day it was a fight to survive, we were in massive debt. So I had to pay for all the bills with the money I collected. Medical, water, power, any government type bill there is.

I get up from the ground and turn on a lamp light which is battery powered. The light fills the room. I set my briefcase by the door and slam it shut.

I walked to the living room, and I see nothing has changed since I've left. It's dirty and gross. The walls are a musty mold color and the rugs are crawling with bugs and mud. The furniture is falling apart, and the springs are popping out everywhere. I take a big sniff, it smells like fried dumplings from downstairs. I laugh, Gramps how could you live like this? I sigh in disbelief that I've lived in this place for seven years now.

I walk over to the cane next to the side table right by the stone fireplace. I pick it up like it would fall to pieces at the slightest touch. I run my fingers on the smooth hard wood and on the end was dried up blood. I close my eyes. My Grandfather was very old and didn't even know what his own shadow was. He would always beat me with this thing. I swing the cane and I hear the whoosh that it still makes. I put the cane back down and walk down the hallway which is covered with pictures. I turn to the right and open a door.

I step into my room, I haven't been in here since I was fourteen. I look at the small room. My bed is on the its side on the left wall and a window right next to it on next wall. It shows the streets of Gotham city. My desk is on the right wall and it still has the clutter on it. Nothing has changed.

I walk towards my bed and pull out a cardboard box from under my bed. I open the lid and I see five VHS tapes and a few pictures.

I pick one up of me and the gang. Chris has his arm around my shoulders, Ashlynn was next to him with her bleach blonde hair and blue eyes and Roger was on my other side of me. He was the tallest and he still looked goofier than ever with those big buck teeth of his. I laugh and see how little we were, and where we are now. Chris is a famous mob boss, Ashlynn is a side kick to a famous villain, and Roger is working with his father, Mad Hatter. And then there's me. I put the picture back and I see the picture of me and Wally when we were kids. We were making silly faces at the camera. I smile, everything seemed so innocent back then. No pain, no nightmares, and no villain. I close the lid of the box and pick it up. I walk back towards the door and head towards the front.

I turn off the lamp and pick up my briefcase. I close the door behind me, locking it.

I walk through the zeta tube and it says Merlin in an electronic voice. It's creepy that a hero transport is saying my villain name. I shove it aside for the moment.

I look up and see a huge white wolf, it's golden eyes staring at me. I freeze and raise an eyebrow, what the? Its expression becomes violent and snarls at me. I don't have a good feeling about this.

I start to move away, it growls at me. "Nice dog wolf thing." It gets ready to pounce on me. I clutch the box closer to me and tighten my grip on the briefcase. I dash towards the living room screaming. It chases after me growling and snarling. I dash behind the couch as the team gives me strange looks until that thing comes barging in going all crazy by chasing me. The whole team jumps to their feet. I run up and climb on the counter top. I clutch the box to my chest as the thing puts its two front paws on the counter top. I scream as it snaps at me. I look over at the team who just stands there dumbfound! "SOMEONE HELP ME!" The wolf comes inches towards my face.

"WOLF!" Conner yells. The thing's ears flop and it gets down from the counter. It just gives me a glare, I sit there terrorized. I can't stop shaking! I look up at Conner, he just gives me a cold glare.

"What was up with Wolf he never acts like that?" Megan blurts out. Kate helps me down from the counter. I place my box on the counter and hold onto the briefcase.

Wolf walks over to Conner's side and Conner just scratches behind its ears. "Wolf only acts like that when he senses a threat," he says coldly. He looks up at me and it's nerve-racking.

I just smirk, "Smart dog." It growls at me and I just stick out my tongue. It bolts towards me, I scream and hide behind Kate. Conner grabs Wolf in time. Wolf calms down a bit but it still looks at me like I'm his next meal. I gulp. Conner lets go of Wolf and he strolls out of the room.

"What's in the briefcase?" I turn to look at Conner. I try to read his thoughts but he only blocks me out.

I eye him, "It's none of your business." He reaches for the briefcase but I just swing it behind me so he can't retrieve it. He gives me a suspicious look, I just smile. "It's not for you. It's for Nightwing." Kate looks shocked, so does everyone else. It's rare for me to call him that, I usually just call him Bat Boy. I put the briefcase by my side, "I had to do a few errands for him." I stroll towards the door until I bump into someone. I look up and it's Nightwing, my cheeks flush.

"Sorry," he says unwillingly. He realizes it me. "Oh! Arie you're back," his eyes dart towards the briefcase and his face lights up with excitement. "You got it!" I hold up the briefcase and he quickly reaches for it. He grabs it and swiftly kisses me on the cheek. "Thanks Arie, you're such a doll!" he says as he makes his way out of the room. I stand there dumbfounded, what just happened! I look around and see the whole team staring intently at me. My face goes completely red with embarrassment. I'm so going to kill Nightwing!

"What are you looking at!" I yell in annoyance. I grab my box and storm off to my room.

I sit on the couch as my legs are pressed against my chest and my arms wrapped around them. I stare at the TV watching one of the VHS tapes. It's a home movie my dad filmed. I don't know what time it is but I know it's late. I couldn't go back to sleep after one of my nightmares, it was Chris this time. He was ripped to shreds by a pack of violent wolves. His screams still echo in my ears. _"Arie!" _Shut up. _"Save me!" _Shut up!_ "Arie! Arie!" _I cover my ears and shut my eyes close, stop! _"Save me! SAVE ME! Arie!" _Shut up!

"Ariana?" My eyes shoot open and I turn to my right to see the voice. It's Kate, the light from the TV intensifies the worried/tired look in her eyes. She rubs her eyes sleepily, "What are you doing up? It's 3:30 in the morning."

I turn my attention towards the TV, "I don't sleep."

"What?"

I glance at her from the corner of my eyes, "I don't sleep." She catches on, and I return my attention to the TV again.

"Is everything alright?" She asks suddenly.

"Of course," I lie.

"Then why are your eyes filled with tears?" I jump, I gently touch under my eyes and it seems I've been crying unwillingly.

I rub it away. "I'm fine," I croak.

She sits down next to me, "No you're not." I avoid her gaze, but it isn't working. Kate just moves to get my attention.

I'm starting to get annoyed with her, "What?"

She just glares at me with a serious expression, "You're upset about something?"

"Wow! I haven't noticed," I say sarcastically. Her eyes narrow, and I shrink back into the couch.

"Look if you're upset about Wolf and Conner...," She starts to say.

"Kate," I interrupt, "I'm not upset about that."

She sighs in relief, "Oh thank goodness." I give her a faint smile. "Then what are you upset about?" I look down at my feet and start to fiddle with my black nail polished toes. Kate raises an eyebrow, "Ariana?"

I shoot her a look, "It's none of your business." She looks offended. "I just have a lot on my mind right now that's all." She gives me an understanding look. I turn towards my attention the screen, and Kate watches with me.

I see the camera move down the hallway of our old house. "What are we watching?" Kate asks curiously.

"My old life," I say coldly without taking my eyes off the screen. The camera shows a door that say, Ariana's Room. They open the door, and you see ten year-old me sitting on my bed. No streaked hair, no piercings. I was doing homework. I look up and give off a surprised look. "Mom! Dad! Get out of my room!" Kate jumps at the words I said in the video. Like it triggered a memory itself.

I hear my mother's cheery laugh, and she lands next to me on the bed wrapping her arms around me as we laugh together. My mother had long beautiful black hair and reddish-brown eyes. Her tannish skin slightly glowed like a goddess. Her cheerful mood always brighten anyone's day. "Natasha," I hear my father's voice.

She gives my father a pout. "Oh honey you're no fun," I could hear her thick Romanian accent.

My mother was a Romanian school teacher and my father was a documentarian. He met my mother when he was doing a documentary in Romania. They got married and had me. My mother home-schooled me, since she was a teacher.

The video brings me back. "Natasha we have to pack," my father says. She just rolls her eyes. I look up at my mother, "Do you have to leave for Gotham?"

My mother just smiles, "We just have to visit your Grandfather on some finance business, but we will be back in a couple days."

I remember this, it's the day before they left.

"Promise," I hear myself say in the video. I start to sniffle and Kate looks over at me. Tears start to roll down my cheek. "Promise," I hear my mother said.

I wipe the tears away, "They didn't keep their promise."

Kate's eyes widen. "Ariana?" She says in a small voice. I try to stop crying. I don't want to show weakness like this. I look away from her. "I'm fine," I say.

"I love you," I hear my mother saying in the video, "Good night Ariana." I look over at Kate, and her eyes are filled with sadness.

"So your parents are dead?" she says quietly, and I nod. "Mine too."

"How?"

"Fire. Killed both my parents and brother. You?"

"Murdered." Kate becomes pale.

"Do you know who?"

I nod, "Hostage situation at the airport. They were killed by the Joker." Kate doesn't make eye contact with me.

"Weird that you became a villain, even though your parents were killed by one?" I become silent for a while. "Ariana?"

"I didn't become a villain for that reason," I say coldly, "Can we please change the topic?" I don't want to talk about this anymore, it's too painful to even think about it.

She just nods in reply, "So you and Nightwing?"

My face feels hot and my cheeks turn red. "It's not like that, we're just friends."

She raises an eyebrow, "Well it didn't look like that."

I become annoyed, "I swear you're worse than Chris."

She's taken aback for a moment. She can't believe I just compared her to him. "Midas is a jerk!" She rants about him at least ten minutes. I laugh. "Anyway I think you and Nightwing should go out. You two make a cute couple."

The smile fades, "That doesn't sound like a good idea."

Kate pouts, "Why not."

I fiddle with the hem of my black night dress, "I've never had a great relationship with guys."

She raises an eyebrow, "Really?"

I nod. "Let me tell you a story of my wonderful relationship life," I say sarcastically. Kate smiles. "Well it started off when this guy asked me to the freshmen homecoming. He was the most popular guy in the class, all the girls wanted him, I never did. But he asked me and I said sure why not. I was confused on why would the most popular guy ask a nobody like me. I mean look at me, I'm not really what a popular guy looks for. Anyway, so it's homecoming and I have the nicest dress I could afford because we were extremely poor. We walk in, he quickly moves away from me and I'm dumped on with a ton of maple syrup. Then someone throws a bucket of black feathers on me, I'm covered. They all laugh at me, even him. It was all a prank, he went with Nicki Robinson. I fell for the oldest trick in the book, I didn't cry I just left feeling crushed."

I try to avoid her stare. "Stop that it's creepy," I say to her. She just gives me a faint smile. "Believe it or not Chris is actually the only guy that has been good to me. He really cared for me."

Kate huffs, "He tried to rape you!"

I shrug, "He's a guy, guys usually want that need."

Kate frowns. "It's not a need! And I'm never going to like him."

I laugh, "He has the tendency to do that." She smiles.

I do like Nightwing it's just I don't want to ruin everything. I'm not considered 'lucky' more unlucky that anything else. I'm just afraid he'll get hurt, like I hurt everyone else in my life. Kate interrupts my thoughts, "Well I'm going to hit the hay."

"Ok, slap it a few times from me." I say, smiling.

She laughs, "Alright, don't stay up too late." She leaves to go back to her dorm.

I notice the tape is out, I get up and put in the next tape.

**DON'T STOP make it POP! DJ blow my speakers up TONIGHT! I'm FIGHT until we see the SUNLIGHT! TIK-TOK on the CLOCK, but the party DON'T STOP! NOOOOOOOO! XD I was bored...**

**Well anyway, I revealed some of Ariana's past. I'll show more of Kate's later on :) but I really hoped that you people liked it! Also...REVIEW!**

**Oh big news! Big news! I'm holding an OC contest, so if you have or have an idea for an Antihero OC, please check out my profile and find my story which is called "Crashing Down"! PM me or forum me the profiles for the OC's on the laid out (in the story) and your OC may place a spot on my Antihero team :D! (Its a Young Justice fic!) Good Luck! **

**Dictator out!**


	13. 12: Return of the Ginger!

**I've always hated Megan, but now I have a deeper reason to! HER MIND RAPING EVERYONE! **

**She climb'in in your windows snatch your people up trying to mind rape them! So you need to hind your villains, hind your bad guys, hind your villains, hind your bad guys, hind your villains, hind your bad guys, AND HIND KALDUR cuz she's mind raping everyone up here! Megan, you don't have to come and confess they (the villains) are looking for you, they going to find you they going to find you! SO YOU CAN RUN AND TELL THAT RUN AND TELL THAT RUN AND TELL THAT TO NIGHTWING, home -boy! They got a witness, and Nightwing is going to be so pissed! YOU ARE REALLY DUMB YOU ARE REALLY DUMB, for real! YOU ARE REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY SO DUMB! FOR REAL! **

**No but seriously so mad that happened! I just want to smack her with a frying pan until she stops moving! SHE RUINS EVERYTHING! :o **

***I swear I've been waiting forever to write this chapter because my favorite character on the show makes his appearance! Wally! If Artemis wasn't in the way I would totally kidnap him and make him mine. But I respect Spitfire so yeah... ***

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice; I just babysit Roy and Jade's baby. :3 **

**Nightwing's POV:**

Why is this awkward? I wake up and go to the kitchen to get a glass of water and instead I find Ariana spread out on her back asleep on the couch while clutching a VHS tape to her chest, her arm hanging over the edge as she quietly snores on the cushions. I'm just standing here in front of her, confused. How did she get out here? Does she sleep walk? And why does she have a VHS tape? I sigh; I don't know what to do. I quietly kneel down to the ground in front of her. I see her sleeping face, it looks so peaceful. Her face clean from the make-up, and she silently mutters in her sleep. "Bat Boy ca e cupcake mea." I raise an eyebrow, she just spoke Romanian. She mutters again, "Bat Boy idiotule asta e cupcake mea. Da-o inapoi."

My eyes narrow and I harshly whisper back at her, "I'm not an idiot and I didn't take your cupcake!" She growls in her sleep, she moves her hand and slaps my shoulder poorly. I'm surprised she can do all of this in her sleep. She softly giggles in her sleep, "Nu mai gadilat-ma." What? I'm not tickling you? Her face becomes sad and she turns over to face me. "Wally...," she mutters. I'm in shock, did she just say what I thought she said? I huff in annoyance, okay time to wake up. I put my hand on her shoulder and shake her lightly.

"Ariana wake up," I whisper. She just grunts. I shake her with more force, "Arie wake up." Her eyes tighten. "Ariana wake up!" Her eyes shoot open she grabs my hand and twists it. She suddenly slaps me across the face with her free hand, knocking off my shades. She releases me and I fall face down on the floor. Ow! That's going to be sore tomorrow morning.

I hear her gasp, "Nightwing!" I hear her feet hit the ground and dash towards me. She kneels down by my side, I look up at her. She has her hand covering her mouth in shock. I sit up and face her, rubbing the back of my neck. "I'm so sorry," she whispers, "When I wake up my reflexes just take over and I go all commando on you." I see a smile forming from the corner of her lips.

I smirk, "That makes two of us." She adverts her eyes away from mine, they widen. She reaches over and grabs something by her side, it's my shades. She picks them up and stares back at me, looking deep into my blue eyes.

She hands me the shades, "I don't get why you hide your eyes behind a mask and shades." I gently grab the shades away from her and hold them tightly in my hand.

"Identity proposes, didn't you wear a mask?"

She shrugs, "Nah, not really."

"What? Why not?"

"It wasn't necessary for me to wear one. At first I did, begin a theft and conman and all. But then I became a gang leader, a very powerful one at that. Everyone knew who I was, so I didn't wear a mask."

"I see," I say quietly.

I see a small smile on her face. "I think Batman makes it a waste to cover your eyes like that," she says in a playful tone.

I glare back at her in playful manner in return, "Really? How so?"

She catches on that this is just a game, but she pulls out a wild card I didn't expect. She gives me a real smile, not a fake one she sometimes gives off. "Because you have pretty eyes." I wasn't expecting her to say to me, she always has a rude or cocky attitude to me never like this.

I return the smile, "Thanks I get that a lot."

She smirks, "Oh really?" I nod, all she does is laugh. I notice there are dark circles under her eyes, and she looks extremely tried. I wonder what really goes on in her mind, and her life?

I look over at her nervously, I can't believe I'm going to do this. I take a deep breath, "Well you have pretty eyes too."

She looks shocked, and just softly laughs. "No I don't." What! I turn my head away in defeat. I give her a compliment and she rejects it. Something catches my attention, she's rubbing her arm in a unsure manner. "My eyes aren't pretty, they're ugly," she says quietly. My eyes widen, how can she say that.

My eyes narrow, "They are too pretty." She looks back at me with a twinkle of admiration in her eyes, but it's gone in a second.

"They are not, they're the color of rusty blood. A maroon color."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"It's not natural! Guys usually don't like girls who are different," She looks away, "I'm a freak." I lightly touch her hand, and she whips her head back to me.

I shrug, "I like girls who are different, and what's wrong with that." I see a tiny smile break through. I slowly lean in as her cheeks turn a rosy color. I move inches from her pale face, but she becomes stiff as if her guard is up. She quickly pushes my face away from hers, turning my head towards at the door. I hear footsteps approaching our way, they get louder. M'Gann's figure appears in the doorway, her short red hair in complete bed head. She trudges through the door into the room, stopping when she lays her eyes upon me.

She smiles sleepy, "Good morning Dick."

"M'Gann. You're up early?" I say in a confused tone. I don't know how to deal with this I mean Ariana has her hand up against my right cheek. Wait...I don't feel her hand anymore. I look over at where Ariana is sitting, but nothing is there.

"Dick," M'Gann interrupts, "What are you doing?"

I turn my attention to her, "Oh I just dropped my glasses." I hold them up, "Found them." She gives me a weird look, and walks into the kitchen.

She freezes in horror as she walks into the kitchen, "Dick?"

I look over the couch to see her, "What?"

She stares at an empty plate on the counter, and raises an eyebrow. "Where are all the cupcakes I made last night?" Cupcakes?

"I don't know?" She looks unsure, but the end result is just a shrug. She reaches for the cabinet above her head and grabs what looks like a bag of chips.

"M'Gann?" I say with a laugh in my voice. She looks over at me when I say her name.

"What? I had cravings."

I just shake my head in disbelief, "Right." She makes a pouty face and storms off to her room, taking the bag of chips with her.

I laugh to myself, I swear can this morning get an weirder? Something catches my attention, I hear someone rummaging through the fridge. I peek my head up to look over the couch into the kitchen. The fridge door is wide open and I see a head buried into the fridge looking for something in it. I can't make out who it is, all I can see is a piece of black clothing. Wait is that black nail polish! I get up from the ground and quietly make my way to the fridge, right as I step close to the fridge Arie's head pops up behind the fridge door. She has an apple in her mouth, and a carton of milk in her hand. Her mouth is covered in frosting and her night dress in covered with crumbs from the cupcakes. Well that solves our cupcake theft case. Her expression to me is unamused. She just rolls her eyes and walks around me to the counter. She places the carton on the surface, then reaches for a glass and sets it down beside the carton.

I slyly make my way beside her, "Where did you go?" She glares at me from the corner of her eyes and points at the cabinets above us. I give her a confused look.

She takes the apple out her mouth, "I was on top of the cabinets."

I stare at her like she was insane, I look up at the cabinets. "How?! How did you get up there?"

She smirks, "I'm a ninja."

My eyes narrow, "Ninja?"

She nods and cocks her head towards me. "I thought Bat Boy would get that. Being trained by Batman and all. You have to be shadowed by the dark, am I not correct."

I pout at her remark, she fiddles with the carton to get it open. "Well that doesn't explain the cupcakes."

She smirks, "What? They were just sitting there," her eyes drift to make contact with mine, "Took them when you were chatting with _M'Gann_." Her attention went back to the milk carton. I sigh and mumble to myself. She suddenly hits me upside the head. I rub the back of my head rapidly, "Ow! What was that for!" Her attention never leaves the carton.

"That is for waking me up at 6:30 in the morning," she says coldly. She's having trouble opening it. I grab it out of her hands and pop it open. She gives me a dirty look and rips it out of my hands. Her expression becomes determined. She tries to pour the milk into the glass but her hand keeps shaking. She pours the milk everywhere except the glass. She slams the carton on the counter and her hands keeps shaking uncontrollably. She slams her hands on the counter, breathing heavily. I give off a concerned look for her, "Ariana are you okay?"

She grits her teeth. "Of course," she says in a mocking tone, "Why wouldn't everything else in my sucky life be _okay_!" She turns to face me with a mad expression, I just rub the back of my neck nervously. The silence lightens the mood and Arie calms down a bit. She doesn't seem to be mad anymore. "I'm sorry," she says, "I didn't mean..."

"I forgive you," I interrupt. She gives me a small smile.

"It's just..." she tries to make out.

"What?"

She opens her mouth to speak, but closes it. She looks down at her feet ashamed and walks off to her room. "It's nothing," she quietly says under her breath.

**ooooooo**

Today just gets weirder and weirder. First off Arie wore her bra outside of her skull sweatshirt. I can't believe I had to point that out to her, her face was red with embarrassment. How do you think I feel, no guy should see that, I shudder at the thought.

But right now, the whole team is bickering in front of me during one of our meetings. It's just one of though days when everyone just argues. Jamie and Cassie argue about him spilling coffee all over her this morning. Kate and Garfield, Megan and Conner, Karen and Tim, etc. They are all fighting with each other. Arie is the only one not talking, she's just staring off in space...like she always does. She looks lifeless, so distant.

The zeta tube activates. I'm quite surprised to hear the name, _recognize Kid Flash_. I see Wally make his way out of the zeta tube. Ariana's face brightens up and a huge smile spreads across her face. I've never seen that expression before! She whips her head around in excitement. "WALLY!" she squeals. She dashes towards him, Wally looks happy to see her also. She leaps into his arms and he spins her around in a hug. They laugh. He sets her down gently on the ground, she looks up at him with an admiration in her eyes. "Omygoshwhatareyoudoinghere! It'sbeensolongsinceI'veseenyou!" She is talking like 60 miles per hour! Wally laughs and grabs her, putting her in a head lock, rubbing the top of her head in a playful manner.

"Of course I'm here! What guy would I be if I didn't visit his little sister." My blood runs cold, did he just say 'little sister'! I notice the whole team has fallen silent and by their expressions they're also completely shocked.

"WHAT!" Kate yells. Wally and Arie look up at the team's surprised faces. They quickly separate, and just stand there awkwardly. Wally rubbing the back of his head in a nervous habit, "Yeah."

Arie gives him a sideways glance and raises an eyebrow. "That's all you can say?"

He looks over at her and smiles, "What you got anything better to say sis?"

She pouts, "Don't call me sis. It's freaking out the team." I swear they can't be siblings, it's impossible! They look nothing alike, and their personalities are completely different. I hear Arie clear her throat, "We aren't really siblings. Wally just calls me his little sister, because he's like my big brother."

The team started to relax a bit, but I still have my doubts. She looks over at me and gives me a concerned look. _"Bat Boy are you alright?" _

I just slowly nod in reply, a huge smile spreads on her face. She looks over at Wally and he smiles back at her. Huh? I guess Wally can make the gloomiest of the gloomy smile and laugh cheerfully.

I dismiss everyone and Wally takes Arie's hand. He drags her into towards the kitchen. My eyes narrow as Wally laces his fingers through hers. What is going on? I stealthily follow them, they sit down at the kitchen table. I crouch down behind the counter watching them. Arie smiles and laughs with Wally. She stares so intently at him, with so much admiration. He rabbles on and they just talk. I can't really hear what their saying, how do they even know each other? Wally has been my best friend for so long, I'm so confused. "Hello," I jump at the sound of a voice right by my ear. I look over at the corner my eye to see Kate's smiling face. My eyebrows crunch together. "What ya doing," she whispers.

"Nothing," I whisper back harshly.

Her smile fades, "It doesn't look like nothing." I look away and she brightly smiles, "I knew it! I knew it! You like..." I cover her mouth with my hand.

"SHHHHH!" I can feel a smile forming from her. I remove my hand, to reveal a huge smile.

She whispers to me, "I knew you liked Ariana."

My cheeks become hot. "I do not!" I harshly whisper back.

She smirks, "Then why are you blushing?"

I become offended, "Guys don't blush."

She raises an eyebrow, "Then why are you spying on Ariana and Wally?"

My eyes narrow, "It's not spying, it observing."

"Right," she says sarcastically. I stick my tongue at her and she smiles back. I peek my head up to continue watching them, I see Ariana running her fingers through Wally's red hair in a playful manner. I make a low growl in the back of my throat. "Someone jealous?" I shoot Kate a look, there's a smug look on her face. I sigh, I might be a tad bit jealous. I duck behind the counter and glare at Kate's face. "Don't worry I won't tell her," she winks at me. I smile, it's nice to have a friend while all this is going on, it's quite stressful. Ariana's laugher brings me back, it's so cheerful. I've never hear it before.

Kate and I look back to Arie and Wally. But they aren't sitting at the table. A chill runs down my spine.

"Well, well, well what do we have here?" Wonderful! I turn around to see Ariana and Wally glaring down on me and Kate. She seems mad, but she just smiles back at me. She turns towards Wally, "Come on we have more catching up to do."

Wally's green eyes glare at me, and then back to Arie. "What about them?"

Kate and I stiffen, Arie just giggles softly. "Nah, they're harmless. They did nothing wrong. Ha! I would do the same thing if it was me." She strolls off towards her room, Wally stays behind.

"Huh? I'm quite surprised," he murmers.

I stand up, so does Kate. "Why?"

"Because it's been so long since she acted like that, so carefree."

"What are you talking about?" Kate demands.

Wally just shakes his head, "I'll explain everything later."

Arie pops her head back in, "West! You coming?"

"Be right there!" She leaves, and he turns back to us. "I promise I'll explain, I bet you're confused about all this. But just wait until tonight, okay?"

We both nod, he smiles and follows Arie.

Night started to fall upon us. Cassie decided we should watch a movie, X-Men. So we all sat down, curled up next to each other.

Halfway into the movie, Cassie is asleep on Jamie's shoulder. Tim, Garfield, Megan, Conner, and Barbara already went to their rooms, fast asleep by now. Karen and Mal went on a date before the movie even started. All was left was me, Kate (who is sitting beside me, munching on a ton of popcorn), Wally and Ariana. Ariana is asleep on Wally. He has his arm around her while she rests her head on his chest. I don't know why, but this burns me to my core! Kate clearly sees I'm not happy about Arie and Wally's cuddle arrangement. She holds out the bowl of popcorn to me, "Popcorn?" I smile and reach for a handful of popcorn. Suddenly Jamie gets up, carrying Cassie bridal style, while Cassie gently leads her head on his shoulder.

"I'm going to bed. Goodnight," he says.

"Goodnight," Kate replies.

A few minutes pass and the movie is almost over. Ariana suddenly screams. We jump, she's in a complete panic. She looks around frantically, breathing heavily. Wally acts calmly, touches her on the shoulder lightly. She flinches, and glares at him fear. "Shhhh," he coos, "It was just a nightmare. It didn't really happen." She takes a deep breath and relaxes a little. She starts to become sniffly, and she holds out her arms like child wanting to be picked up. Wally just laughs at her and agrees to pick her up. He carries her back to her room, as she has her arms and legs wrapped around him. Like a koala.

Wally comes back and sits back on the couch. "Now we can talk." Finally!

I start first, "How do you know Ariana? You seem to be quite close."

"I was just thinking the same thing," Kate blurts out.

"I've known Ariana all my life. You see she was my next door neighbor, back in Central City. My first friend, one of my best friends actually. Our dads where high school buddies and college roommates. So it was kind of forced we would become friends, but I enjoyed her company."

"What happen between you two?" Kate asks.

Wally sighs, "She changed."

I lean forward, now interested. "How?"

"The Joker, that's how," he says coldly.

The color drains from my face, "What?"

Wally's voice becomes barely a whisper. "The Joker slaughtered her parents. After that...the Ariana I knew was gone. She hasn't been the same since. She moved to Gotham right after her parents death. I came to visit once, I just started begin Kid Flash, and she was different. Colder, darker...sinister even. Anyway, we got into a huge fight and I haven't seen her in person ever since."

"In person?" Kate asks.

"Yeah, I would video chat and call her sometimes. But not like interact with her in person, you know what I mean?" We both nod.

"Did you know she was in prison?" I ask him.

He nods. "Oh yeah," he softly chuckles, "You and Kate were actually there when I found out."

"We were!" Kate claims dumbfounded.

Wally smiles, "Yeah remember..."

I did. It was back around three years ago. We were all at the cave training, until Flash showed up with an unhappy expression on his face. Wally rushed to his side as Flash pulled him aside from the others. They talked in a low voice, and I saw Wally's expression gone from happy to furious. "What!" I remember him screaming at Flash, "How could you!" Flash tried to reason with him by saying it was the only thing they could do. I've never seen Wally that upset before, the whole team was surprised. Wally stormed off after that, I confronted him about it later that day. He told me they had to put his dog down, but I never thought once it was Ariana they were talking about.

Wally looks over at me, "You remember?" I nod. He lies back on the couch, as he rubs his fingers through his short red hair. There's an awkward silence.

Kate fiddles with the hem of her jacket and speaks, "What have you been doing lately?"

Wally rubs the back of his neck and has a guilty look on his face. "I've been helping Paula cope with all of this," he sighs, "I'm just so glad that Ariana hasn't found out about her death yet. They were pretty close."

Kate's face pales, and she looks down at her feet, "About that..."

"Kate?" I say. Wally sits up realizing what's going on. She looks over at him.

"I sort of told Ariana about Artemis," her voice trails off. Wally's eyes widen. "I'm sorry," she continues, "I didn't know you knew her."

He relaxes a bit, "It's okay. I understand."

She laughs, "She at least took Midas trying to rape her better then Artemis's death." My blood runs cold, and Wally almost has a heart attack. Kate realizes what she said and covers her mouth, "Oops."

"WHAT!" We yell in unison. Wally and I look at each other.

"He what," Wally says in a low growl. Kate whimpers. There is a burning hate in my chest right now! I mean how dare he try to rape her!

Kate gets up from the couch, "Oh look at the time! I'm hitting the sack!" She dashes off to her room before either of us can speak. We just glare at each other, until Wally finally stands.

"We'll it's late. I'm going to bed," he starts to walk towards the dorms.

I stand abruptly, "Wait! You're staying!"

Wally turns back to face me, "Just for tonight. I won't want to miss tomorrow."

I raise an eyebrow, "Tomorrow? What happens tomorrow?"

"You'll see," he turns and walks away. But he stops at the doorway. "Dick?"

"Yeah?"

I notice that he's glaring at me from the corner of his eye, it's cold and harsh. His eyes narrow. "If your just using Ariana as your little pawn in this master plan you have, don't! I already lost Artemis to it and I don't what her dragged into it as well. And if anything happens to her I swear I will not think twice before I snap your neck." He walks off to the dorms. My knees buckle, what was that! I can't stop trembling, because I know.

I'm a dead man...

**Whoop! Finally done! It took me two weeks to write this and it's 10 pages! 10! Well I glad with this chapter, I like it. Besides we gingers have to stay together! (Yes I'm a ginger, like the wonderful Wally) I swear I'm like a girl form of Wally it's creepy (looks-wise, I don't flirt with every guy I see). And by the way, I can't speak Romanian, I wish! But sadly no, I just used Google translate. **

**Oh I hope you guys liked my Megan version of the Bed Intruder Song XD Sorry I just had to do that! But its true, I swear Superboy needs to keep her mind raping under control! **

**Well get excited people, cuz the next chapter is 13! We have something planned for the great chapter, since its big unlucky number! :D and you have to review to see it, so 4 reviews until I post it! Mwhahahahaha! **

**#Fan Girlin' !**

**Sunflower: It's actually only six pages. But then again, we are using different technology. REVIEW!**


	14. 13: Button Jar

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Well late Halloween! Anyway I would like to thank all of the people who reviewed! And you people should review because I'm BATMAN! And to let you guys know Arie's relationship with Wally is like a big brother and sister relationship! They aren't a couple. :D so don't worry. Stop... Hate'n is bad.**

**Anyway! Big 13 Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, I just stole Two-Face's coin!**

**Arie's POV**

I keep running through the flames of the building, searching around but I can only hear is agonizing screaming. Blood spatters all over the flaming wall before me, I freeze in horror.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH SOMEONE HELP ME!" someone screams. I turn my head towards the voice, and my blood runs cold. I know who it is!

"ASHLYNN!" I bolt towards the screaming voice. Flames surrounding me, rushing as my heart beats against my chest. Please be okay.

I come across Ashlynn trembling in a corner, one of Joker's goons is in front of her, and he has a gun pointed at her head! I look around in terror until I see a lead pipe. I grab it and bolt towards the goon. He tugs his finger on the trigger. I come up on him and smash the lead pipe into his head. He crumbles to the ground, I continually smash the pipe into his bleeding broken skull. Blood covers me, I look over at Ash's terrified face. The blazing fire surrounds us as you hear the screams of slaughter in the distant. I hear a rush of footsteps toward us, and it's Chris. I see the horror in his face, like I was a monster. Tears stream down my cheeks, I hear the lead pipe clack on the ground and look down at my blood covered hands in horror. I am a monster. Someone grabs my shirt and I'm face to face with the Joker. He grins likes a psycho at me, I tremble.

"You're no better than me!" He screams at me in a demonic laugh.

NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I wake with a start, I scream at the top of my lungs. I sit up clutching my hands to my head, it's throbbing with pain. My heart is pounding against my chest! What? What kind of dream was that! Wait...

It wasn't a dream, but a memory. I killed someone, it was considered manslaughter. I shake uncontrollably. Why do you have to remind me! WHY! I know already! I'm a murderer and I kill. I glare up at the door, something doesn't seem right. I sense something strange. I leap off my bed and dash towards the door, I slower my pace when I come to the hallways. I stalk my way quietly through the halls, until a see a small speck of light up ahead. I creep up to it and get low to the ground right beside it. I hear two voices.

"We need to get rid of her!" It sounds like Barbara.

"She's part of the team!" The hairs on my arm stand up, that's Nightwing's voice!

"We'll I don't trust her, she's creepy and did you notice how Wolf reacted towards her? She's up to something!"

"She's your teammate, you should trust her!"

"Have you ever noticed that we've never had a mission with her! And she's always gone, and beat up."

He was silent for a moment, and Barbara takes this to her advantage. "You're up to something, aren't you?"

"It's none of your business," he says coldly.

I can sense that she seriously full of rage. "You said to trust, but how can we trust you if you don't tell us anything!"

I can hear the laughter in his voice, "Must be a Batman thing."

She screams at him, "What is wrong with you!"

"Many things."

She seems angry, "Get rid of the freak. She seems like a threat."

"NO!"

"If you won't, then I will!" Nightwing becomes silent.

I dash away, with my hand covering my mouth. They really don't like me. Does the team really feel that way about me, like I'm some freak! I knew this wasn't going to work out, I'm a villain and they're heroes. We were never meant to be mixed.

I pass by the door of the living room and see that the kitchen light is on. I stop and check it out, it's Wally? He's sitting at the table with a glass in his hand, glaring at it with a distant glaze. He turns the glass making the liquid inside slosh around. I walk up to the table, "Wally?"

He looks up startled, like from a daydream. "Oh Ariana, it's you."

"What are you doing up?" I look back at the clock on the stove, "It's five in the morning!" I swear he's taking after me!

He looks back his hands clutching his glass of milk. I sit down as Wally rubs his fingers through his hair. I glare back at him, worried. He's been so depressed lately, and I know why. He hasn't told me directly yet, but I know it's about Artemis. I don't even need to read his mind to figure that out. His feelings flow out of him like a tsunami, it's so cold and sad. I feel like I can't breathe, these feelings are overpowering. I fall out of my chair as I double over, with my hand covering up my mouth, and I start to cough up blood. Wally rushes to my aid, "Ariana!"

I hold up a hand and force a smile, "I'm fine. Just a little after shock from my dream, that's all. Happens all the time." He crashes down on the floor by my side. I don't want him to worry about me even more than he already does. It's bad enough he's so hung up about Artemis, I don't want to make it worse. I don't want him to suffer as I have.

He lets out a sigh. "Your screaming woke me up," I shoot him a look. "It sounded different from the others."

I look back at my bloody hands, "Because it was."

His intense is peaked, "What?"

"It wasn't like my punishment dreams, it was a creation of a memory I had. Of course it wasn't the exact memory, they added their own sick twist to it. But still, it seemed so real."

He's silent, "I see."

I shoot him a bright smile to cheer him up. "But I'm okay with it, really. I'm tough, I can take a punch. Besides if I couldn't they wouldn't call me the Queen of the Underground, now would they?"

He laughs, "You're right." We laugh together.

I nudge his arm, "Hey the team will be up soon. Let's make them breakfast."

He agrees, and we get to work. We make pancakes for everyone, and they file in one by one. I flip the pancakes on their plates, but something strange happens when it is Jaime's turn.

"Yum pancakes!" he shouts. _"What is this substance?" _What is that voice?

I turn to Jaime, "Did you just hear a voice?"

Panic shows on his face, "No!" _"She knows too much, processing extermination."_

I raise an eyebrow, "Jaime? Why do you want to exterminate me?"

The panic increases in his expression and he runs off. My eyes narrow, that was strange. It seems Jaime has two beings trapped in his mind. Nightwing walks up to me with an empty plate, and guilt washes over me. I shouldn't have overheard that conversation with Batgirl. He smiles brightly at me. "I would like some."

I smile back at him as if nothing is wrong, "Of course." I drop the food on the plate, but he doesn't leave.

He looks nervous, but confident at the same time. "So...are you doing anything later?" I almost drop the spatula, did he just! My face flushes, but I swear I see a huge red exclamation mark pop up above Wally's head. He rushes over and wraps his arm around my shoulders protectively.

"No," Wally growls. Nightwing cautiously backs away, afraid. "Besides," Wally starts to say, "I was going to spend the day with Ariana down in Happy Harbor." Wally gazes back at me and smiles.

Nightwing's eyes narrow.

"I see," he turns towards me and flashes a smile, "Maybe some other time." He winks, and my blush deepens. He walks off towards everyone else.

"So are you up to it?" Wally asks.

I nod, "I would love to."

So after breakfast, Wally and I head into town. I'm amazed, because I've never really left the cave. Not counting Gotham. It's a small, simple town, it's peaceful and I like that. My dark purple sundress flaps in the cool sea breeze as I laugh cheerfully. I can see Wally crack a smile, I grab his hand and dash off with him to where ever. My fingers lace through his. I look up at him and smile. We walk in silence, until I make the first move.

"You may not realize it, but you're very brave."

He's taken off guard, "What are you talking about?"

I glare at him, "I heard about Artemis."

He looks like he just had a heart attack. I sigh, I knew he would never tell me anyway. He's afraid of hurting me, but doesn't he realize it hurts me when he doesn't tell me these sorts of things! It hurts me that he doesn't trust me anymore. "Look you can tell me and I'm here for you. Besides it's not like your negative aura was sending any red flags!" I smack him upside the head.

"Sorry," he mumbles under his breath.

I chuckle. "You're forgiven. But you know, you're taking this very well." My voice softens, "Better than I would have." Wally becomes silent.

"Oh by the way," he starts to say, "I don't like the idea of you being close to Dick."

I raise an eyebrow, "Why not?"

"Because I don't trust him."

I'm baffled, "What happened between you two! You guys were like brothers."

"Things changed..." He starts to say but I cut him off.

"Like what happened between us?" He flinches, like I just rubbed salt in a wound.

"Yeah," he admits. I smile and tighten my grip.

"People change, you have to accept that in life."

"Ain't that the truth," He's silent for a while, "Speaking of which...I heard what Midas tried to do to you." I freeze on the spot and look up at Wally. His eyes are harsh with rage. I silently curse to myself, stupid Kate begin the blabbermouth she is! I rub the back of my neck nervously.

"Yeah...about that," I start to say. But Wally holds up his hand to cut me off.

"I don't want to hear it!" I sigh in relief, Kate I'm so putting whip cream on your face tonight while you're sleeping! Teach you a lesson about not telling super huge secrets to other people. Wally lets go and backs away.

"I'll be back in a second, can you wait here." He points towards a bench right in front of the store. I sit down in reply. Wally walks into a store, I just gaze off in the distance.

My dream comes back to haunt me, I try to push it out of my head. "Arie," I look up to see Wally sitting down next to me holding a red velvet cupcake in his hands. With a smile on his face, I give him a confused look. "Happy birthday." I smile and look back down at the cupcake in excitement.

"You remembered!"

He laughs, "Of course I remembered. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't remember?" I smile and grab the cupcake. He gently kisses me on the cheek and whispers, "Happy eighteenth birthday." I take a huge bite out of the cupcake and give him a huge cupcake filled smile. He cracks up laughing. I wipe the crumbs away from my mouth, "Thanks."

We sit in silence for a while. "So do you like the team?" Wally asks me.

I nod, "Yeah they're okay. It's just that I don't think they like me."

Wally raises an eyebrow, "What?"

I shake my head, "Never mind." I look away.

"Is it because of what happened?" he asks softly.

I shoot him a threatening sideways glance, he looks guilty. "No," I say coldly, "They don't know what happened."

He nods, but I can feel the guilt rising in him. "I still can't forgive the League for what they did to you."

I sigh, I knew he was going to bring that up. "Is that why you quit?"

He shakes his head, "No. Different reason."

"I see."

"But still," he barks with an enraged expression, "How could you let them do that to you!"

"Wally," I whisper, tears threatening to fall.

"They took your powers away Ariana! How can you be so calm about that!" He yells at me.

"WALLY!" I bark angrily at him. He's taken aback. "Let it go," I say coldly. I stand up abruptly and storm off. He calls after me but I zone him out and walk on.

I walk until I reach a park and I stop right under an oak tree. I look up to see the sunlight seep through the green leaves of summer. I hear Wally panting behind me, which is strange since he does have super speed. I ignore him, I'm quite frustrated with him at the moment.

"Ariana don't do that!"

"Do what!"

"Don't run away like that!"

I ignore him. He says that I'm the one that's changed but actually he's the one who's changed.

"Wally," I say softly, "Please don't bring it up again." Yes, I got my powers taken away. That was my punishment for the crime I committed against the Justice League. At least I got to keep a tad bit of my powers, I'm grateful for that. I actually don't mind getting my powers locked away, it keeps me calm. Knowing I wouldn't hurt anyone more than I already have.

I can feel Wally's glare burning through me, "Why!"

I sigh, "You really are an idiot! You know that?"

I can hear the confusion in his voice, "They took your powers away!"

"Maybe I like not have my full powers, did you everything about that! That's the reason I got locked up in the first place! So drop it Wally. I'm trying to move pass all that. I finally found a place that doesn't know, and I want to keep it like that. I'm putting all that behind me, why can't you just accept that!"

He takes a step back, shocked by my words. A guilty expression washes over his face.

"Wally," I say softly, "Please let it go. I don't want you to live with the guilt." I walk up to him and place my hands on his shoulders. "All I ever want is for you to be happy." He jumps at my request, I just smile. "Can you do that for me?"

He nods, "I can try."

Wally and I head back to the cave. When we arrive Nightwing is standing there in front of the zeta tube with a bouquet of yellow roses, tapping his foot in an annoyed manner. Wally's eyes narrow, I ignore him and stroll towards Nightwing.

"Bat Boy what's with the flowers?"

His eyes narrow, "They came in the mail a few minutes ago, they're addressed to you." He hands me the bouquet of roses. I glance at the card, flip it open, and read the contents:

My dearest Tweety Bird!

I hope you have a most wonderful birthday!

- Love, Midas

I stuff the note in my pocket. As if on cue, Kate comes strolling in and joins our little group. She points to the bouquet of roses, "What with the flowers?"

Nightwing glares at it in disapproval, "They're from Midas." Kate's eyes narrow and I can sense a horrifying aura from her. She quickly rips the bouquet out of my hands and dashes off towards the kitchen.

"Kate where are you going!" Wally calls after her.

"I'm going to burn these flowers!"

Nightwing dashes after her. "I want to too! Wait for me!" he says. Wally and I stand there as we watch my only two friends leaving to burn my birthday present. I sigh and reach behind me pulling out a single yellow rose. Wally jumps back, surprised. I sniff the flower, "Well it's a good thing I saved one then." He laughs.

"Hey," he asks, "What happened to the present I got you last year? I noticed you weren't wearing it." I lightly touch where my locket use to be and give him a sad smile.

"Oh it broke..." I say in a low voice.

He nods in understanding. "Well I better help Kate and Dick go burn those flowers." I glare at him in disbelief as he dashes off to join them.

That night the team and I finish dinner. We're just chilling out on the couch, until Wally makes an announcement.

"Before I leave I would like to give Ariana something." He reaches behind him pulling out a bag that says "Happy Birthday". Everyone's faces go pale as mine turns red with embarrassment. Wally hands me the bag, I rummage through the thin colored paper. I look down at the idem inside and I start to tremble. Tears start to form in my eyes, I look up and see Wally's huge smile. I gently touch the glass jelly jar inside the bag. I pull it out slowly as if it could break any minute, tears start to fall as I gaze at all the buttons within the jar. Wally gives me a carefree laugh, "I told you I would keep my promise." I nod as I clutch the jar to my chest, as if the world was going to end any moment. I cry, a huge smile spreading across my face. I laugh uncontrollably, I bet everyone thinks I've lost it.

The last time I saw Wally, he came to visit me in Gotham. I had just recently met Chris and the gang, and I was a thief. Wally didn't approve of my actions. So we got in a huge fight about it. Wally was so mad at me he smashed my favorite thing in the world, my mother's button jar. After he broke it he felt really horrible that he done that, but I was too furious to listen. I kicked him out and hadn't seen him since. But I do remember him saying he would get me a new jar.

"Thank you Wally," I croak.

He wraps his arms around me in a hug, "You're welcome."

The team remains silent. "It's your birthday today?" Kate asks, shocked. Wally lets go and I wipe my tears away. I nod in reply. "How old are you?" she asks.

"Eighteen."

"But I thought you were already eighteen," Nightwing comments.

I smirk at him, "So you did check my records." His face turns red and I giggle. _"The League made me eighteen on my records, so they could send me to that confinement prison." _

Nightwing nods, _"Makes sense."_

Wally claps his hands together, "Well I better get going. It was nice seeing everyone again."

So we say our goodbyes and see him off. It's late so everyone tells me happy birthday and goes to bed. Until there are two.

Nightwing and I are the only ones left. He strolls over to me until he is standing above me, I glare intently at him. He leans in and kisses me in a short chaste kiss. It happens so fast it only lasts a second, but to me it feels like forever. My face flushes as he whispers, "Happy birthday Ariana." My heart beats rapidly against my chest. He walks away as if nothing happened, as I still stand there thinking about what just happened. I crumble to the ground as my knees buckle, my body still in shock of the tiny kiss he gave me. But I simply smile to myself.

Best birthday EVER!

**Mwhahahahahahaha! Yes they kissed, I'm evil. I hoped you liked the chapter, I sure do! I put fluff! Hahaha! Well Review! New chapter will be here soon! **

**I want 4 reviews until the next one, REVIEW! **

**Sunflower: Totally random, but guess what I dressed up as for Halloween? Wonder Girl!**


	15. 14: Volleyball Supernova

**I'm at the beach suckers! Haha for break me so me and my whole family went to the beach for Thanksgiving. So to inspire me I wrote this chapter setting at the beach. **

**Plus Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came back on! And it's awesome, childhood right there! I love this show! They're so adorable! **

**And I would like to thank all the wonderful reviews I got. It really means a lot to me ^^ So I hope you like it :) **

**Now that we have that covered to the fic! SMOKE BOMB *Throws smoke bomb and gets covered with purple smoke* **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, I just watch static with Superboy. **

**Arie's POV**

"Blue! Come in the water its great!" Cassie yells from the ocean, as the waves crash against her bare legs. She waves over at Jamie and I, as Megan and Tim join her in the water. Jaime glances down at me, and makes a weird face. I can see the sunlight glaring off his face.

I just sit on my towel under my umbrella, I smile up at Jaime and nod towards Cassie. He's still uneasy, "Are you sure?"

_"I don't like the idea of you showing me off Jaime." _

I nod, "I'm sure no one will make fun of you and if they do I'll tear them apart." I give him a bright smile. "Go, Cassie's waiting." Jaime lightens up and takes off his t-shirt, revealing the blue machine fused with his spine. Jamie runs towards them as he joins them in the bright big ocean.

I'm glad Jaime and I have become friends, he's really nice. At least someone on the team likes me. I sigh and pick up my sewing needle and the fabric I've been working on. I look down at my semi-finished product, a hand stitched doll. I have all the parts sewed on and the two purple buttons for eyes. I take the black yarn and start to sew it through the doll's head.

I hear laughing in the background, looking up, I spot Conner playing fetch with Wolf. It looks like everyone is having fun.

The only reason I'm here is that Bat Boy thinks we need more "bonding" time, and by "we" he means me. I know he's trying to make the team trust me, but I don't think it will work.

I go back to sewing hair for my doll. "Hey there beautiful." I turn my head to the side and see Bat Boy's wet, dripping face in front of mine. The sunlight off his shades is blinding, just as blinding as his smile.

I glare back at him, "What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy." He leans in closer, and I lean back, trying to avoid him. His body wet body presses against mine, and I put my doll back down in my bag and face him. It's really hard to keep a straight face with him, since he has bare wet chest pressed against my left arm. "Could you please stop that!" My cheeks become hot as he smirks.

"Why, does it bother you?"

I shoot him a look, "It does actually!"

He chuckles, "Well I thought you looked quite lonely over here. You look so cute in your bathing suit." My blush deepens. My bathing suit isn't much, it's just a black bikini with a black cover-up dress.

"Pervert!"

Bat Boy pouts, "I am not!"

I smirk, "Keep telling yourself that." His eyes narrow and he grabs me by the waist. He pulls up and flings me onto his shoulder. He gets up and walks towards the ocean. I slam my fists against his back.

"Bat Boy let me go!"

"I'm not going to." He places one foot into the ocean water, my eyes widen in horror. He walks deeper in to the ocean.

"Dick I'm serious let me go," I try to hide the terror in my voice. Nightwing stops, the water is up to the calves of his legs. He pulls me off his shoulder and holds me bridal style. My arms cling to his neck for dear life.

"I'm going to drop you into the water now."

Panic shows on my face, "No, no, no!"

He smirks, "Yes, yes, yes."

He's about to release me. _"I can't swim!" _I tell him telepathically.

He stops and glances back at me, _"Really?"_

I nod and I pull myself closer to him, "Don't let me go."

He smiles, "Okay." I smile back. _"You know I can teach you to swim right." _

_"Alright but not right now." _

He nods understandably, "You know you're safe with me." He takes a step forward and he gets his foot suck in the wet sand. He starts to lean forward, "Uh oh." My eyes widen as we go crashing into the ocean waves.

I cough up salt water as Nightwing wraps his arms around me. I latch myself onto to him. I look over at him and his wet hair drips on his face. The waves pushed off his glasses so I see his clear blue eyes. The waves crash against us, he leans in and his forehead touches against mine. I lean in and my lips almost brush against his.

"HEY NIGHTWING!" Garfield shouts from the beach. We quickly separate. Kate punches Beast Boy in the arm.

"Hey Nightwing, Ariana, want to play some volleyball?" Kate yells.

"Okay," Nightwing shouts back. He looks back at me and smiles, he grabs me and pulls me up. He holds me by the waist, "Come on let's go play some volleyball."

I have a bad feeling about this.

**Kate's POV **

I can feel Ariana and Nightwing glaring at me as I turn towards the volleyball net we've set up. It's not my fault Gar interrupted their kiss! Whatever, I'm going to own them in volleyball. I remember how it would be Artemis and me against the rest of the old team, and we would still win. She had a mean spike. _"No. Don't go down that road."_ Shaking my head, I go stand by Garfield, who's bouncing up and down, eager to play. Nightwing and Ariana walk up to the other side of the net.

"Alright, it's the regular volleyball rules, along with the addition of no powers. First team to ten wins," I tell them. Nightwing nods, and we all back up. Conner, who's keeping score, tosses me the ball. I throw it up in the air, hitting it hard with my fist. It soars over the net straight to Ariana, who squeals and ducks. I stare at her in disbelief.

"I wasn't ready!" she protests.

"Yeah, sure!" I reply. Out of the corner of my mouth I whisper to Gar, "Hit the ball to Arie, she can't play." Using this strategy, Gar and I quickly cream Arie and Nightwing, even though Nightwing is a bat.

"Two out of three?" Nightwing asks. I shake my head.

"Maybe next time," I tell him. "I'm going to take a walk." Before anyone can offer to come with me, I jog down the beach until I'm out of shouting range. I slow to a walk, staring moodily at the ocean. I really didn't want to come down today, but I knew everyone would be suspicious if I didn't. The beach held so many memories for me. Kaldur's and mine awkward attempts at flirting (the ice cream incident still made me cringe), our first kiss which was on the beach, visiting Atlantis….I shake my head, getting rid of the memories. I don't need this right now. Kaldur is the enemy, and that's the way he needs to stay. Sighing, I walk back to the team, pasting a smile on my face along the way.

**Sunflower: Hey! So Cheshire isn't actually at the beach anymore. Blame me, I was too tired (and didn't have enough time) after drivers' ed to write my part. Well, review! Or I'll send a Howler to you, and it won't be pretty.**

**Cheshire: (purple smokes appears) SUP! Yeah the beach was fun, besides me dropping my phone in the Gulf of Mexico! Stupid volleyball! **

**So I hope you enjoyed the chapter! REVIEW! **

**Ninja Dictator out….**


	16. 15: Girl Time with Chris

**Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope everyone has a happy holiday! So here is my present to you!**

**Also guess who is coming back to visit! That's right CHRIS! He's coming back to haunt y'all! I hope you guys don't hate him to much this time around but you probably will cuz come on its Midas who we're talking about! **

**Now enough with the talking on to the chapter! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice; I just make OC's for this show. **

**Ariana's POV: **

I run my fingers on the spine of the books in the library in the cave, skimming the names on the books. I've already read _Alice in Wonderland _by Lewis Carroll_, Rapture _by Lauren Kate_, Dracula _by Bram Stoker_, The Ghost and the Goth _by Stacey Kade_, _and _Everlost _by Neal Shusterman. I stop when I see a disturbing book, _Twilight _by Stephanie Meyer, I raise an eyebrow. Really? I thought heroes were better than this. Reducing to read such garbage?

Suddenly the door bursts open and Kate is standing there with a determined look in her eyes. "Kate?" She dashes towards me and an invisible border wraps around me, which makes me drop my books. I can't move my body, I squirm around my hold trying to break free. Kate comes walking up, she picks me up and slings me on her shoulder. My eyes narrow, I'm really sick of everyone picking me up. Kate starts to walk towards the door. "Where are you taking me?" I ask in annoyed tone.

A huge smile spreads across her face, "Somewhere exciting!"

I sigh, "Wonderful."

We ended up in Gotham, me finally free from my chains. We run into the busy streets of the city, I cover my eyes from the sun.

"Why are we here?" I ask the cheerful blonde.

She gives me a look, "Since you never told me about your birthday, I thought we'll go shopping to make up for it. Plus it will make some great girl time for us both," she leans in to whisper, "Also I needed to get away from the guys they were driving me crazy." She smiles.

I glanced at her quizzically, "Girl time?"

She put her hands on her hips, "Don't tell me you never had girl time?"

Well if you call Ashlynn tying me to a chair and forcefully putting make-up on me as Chris laughs his head off girl time...

"Nope," I reply, shaking my head to rid myself of the terrifying memories.

Kate gasps, "Well we don't have a choice now! SHOPPING TIME!" She grabs my wrist and bolts down the busy sidewalk. As people pass us by, Kate turns into a store.

We walk in and it is swarmed with girls our age (well my age, Kate is older than me by two years). Kate lets go and blends with the crowd. I frantically go after her before I lose her. She's standing by a rack of really cute knit sweaters, browsing through them. A teen bumps into me, "Sorry," I say. I walk over to Kate and glance with her, "Why is it so busy?"

She points to a red poster on the wall, "It's their summer sale. What, have you never been to a sale?"

I nod, "I never went shopping for clothes. I'm too poor, besides I made all of my clothes."

"So you've never been to a mall or store before?"

"Oh no I have, but I mostly went to steal something."

Kate turns her attention back to sweaters, I smile and nudge her with my elbow. "Don't worry," I say, "I'm not going to take anything." I walk over to this jacket on sale, I pick it up and examine it. I turn around and run into a bleach blonde terror with green eyes, Nicki. I stare in amazement at her green eyes, as two pairs of her pack's eyes glare at me.

Nicki gives me an amused smile and her eyes dart towards to the jacket in my hands. Her face lights up, "Super cute!" She rips the jacket from my hands.

"Hey!" I shout at her, "That's mine!"

She gives me a sympathetic glance, "Oh honey I'm sorry I didn't see you there."

"Of course not," I say gritting through my teeth. I launch myself to grab the jacket back, but she moves it.

"Oh, you want this? Well you have very bad taste in clothes Arie. It would look better on me," she laughs, "Like everything else does."

I glare back at her and smirk, "Yeah it would look better on you considering you're so fat in everything you wear."

Her eyes narrow and she throws the strawberry milkshake in her hand all over me. I'm covered head to toe in pink sticky liquid. Everyone around us starts laughing and takes pictures on their phones. I glare back at Nicki who has a smug look on her face, "You should have stayed in prison Arie."

Kate pushes her way through the crowd and gasps when she sees me. She steps in front of me protectively. "What's your problem?" she growls at Nicki.

Nicki gives her a carefree shrug, "Freaks deserve punishment." I see a vein pop on Kate's forehead. "Besides, she insulted me," Nicki continues, "It's not like she has any feelings."

Kate's eyes widen, I see her fists ball up. Out of the blue Kate sucker punches Nicki in the jaw, making her fly back into the crowd.

"THAT'S FOR MESSING WITH MY FRIEND!" Kate yells at her as Nicki stands up holding her jaw.

I stand there amazed, and I smile at Kate as she smiles back. I walk up to Nicki and wave my hand in front of her eyes. I walk back to Kate as we leave the store.

"What did you do to her," she asks me.

"Oh I made her believe that every time she looked in a mirror she looks bald." I hear her screams coming from the store. I snicker as Kate and I laugh together. "By the way that was so awesome when you punched her in the face!"

Kate gives me a proud smile, "I've fought bigger threats then that little brat."

"True dat sister," I say laughing.

She nods to the next store, "We need to get you new clothes."

We walk into the next store and a women who is putting clothes on a sales rack gasps when she see me. She rushes up to us in a hurry, "What happened to your clothes!"

I shrug carelessly, "Bullies?"

She gasps and takes my hand, "Well I shall not have a young lady looking like that on my account!"

She drags me over to the dressing rooms, I look back over my shoulder and give Kate a 'HELP ME NOW!' look. She rushes to my aid. The lady shoves me into a room and slams the door in my face. I hear her talking to Kate on the other side.

"You find her some clothes to wear," the lady orders. A few minutes later Kate opens the door with a bunch of clothes.

I dig through the clothes and see a t-shirt that makes me laugh so hard. It's a purple shirt with a picture of a black apple and it says _BAD APPLE._ So I slip off my shirt I'm wearing now and wear this one instead. I also find a long black skirt, put that on also. I walk out and do a little twirl for them. The lady claps her hands together in joy. "I'll go ring that up for you," she says. She dashes off. Kate and I stand there in silence.

"So," she starts to say, "You and Nightwing?"

My face becomes red, "There is nothing going on between us!"

She raises an eyebrow, "Oh really, well it didn't look like that when he tried to I don't know...kiss you!"

I sigh, "I admit he did try to kiss me but that still change the fact...we aren't going out."

Kate smiles, "Well you should you two make a cute couple. Plus he really likes you."

The red on my face deepens, "Well you don't know that."

She smiles, "I know many things Ariana Kerli."

I smile, "I believe your word."

Kate pays for my outfit and the lady puts my other clothes in a bag for safe keeping. We exit the store and walk down the street. I turn towards Kate, "I'm not really into clothes shopping. Let's try another type of store...preferably a book store."

Kate nods, "Alright, I love books."

I smile, but it quickly fades when a black sports car comes zooming towards the curb. It parks right besides us, we stop and glare at the back passenger's window. The window starts to descend and a guy with golden hair and shades stares at me with a huge smile. I blush.

"Hey Birdy," Chris says.

I smile, "Hey Chr-."

Kate butts in and glares at Chris, "Hey there handsome."

Chris's expression become threatening, and slightly nervous. "You."

Kate smiles and waves at him, "How are your injuries?"

He pulls down his shades lower on his nose showing his eyes, and one of his eyes are bruised underneath. I smile, I'm glad Chris has the ability to heal a bit faster than normal people. "Thanks to you they're just peachy," he says coldly.

"Wonderful," Kate says cheerfully.

I laugh at both of them but I'm still worried, with both of them together in the same area of space means disaster.

"So Chris how did you know I was in town," I ask him.

"He probably stalks you," Kate whispers in my ear.

Chris pull out his phone and shows me a picture of me covered in milkshake, "It's all over the web."

I look away embarrassed, "About that..."

He holds up his hand, "I'm not even going to bother asking."

I sigh, "Oh good."

He smirks, "But it pains me to know that you didn't even call me letting me know! So I'm just going to take you now."

"Wha-" Suddenly the door slams open and Chris grabs my arm. He pulls me into the car.

"ARIANA!" Kate yells, jumping in after me. The door slams close and the car drives off.

**Kate's POV: **

I'm squished in between the door and Ariana. Stupid Chris, ruining our girl time. Stupid me, for not skewering him with a knife when we first saw him. Oh well. It looks like I'll have plenty of time later.

"So how did you like those flowers I sent you?" Chris asks, breaking the silence. Arie opens her mouth to speak, but I cut in.

"Oh, they smelled great when I was burning them!" I say in a falsely cheerful voice and a huge grin. Maybe if I keep up the psycho blonde act he'll leave us alone.

"Why'd you do that, gorgeous?" Chris replies with a pout. My eyes narrow into little slits, and Arie shifts nervously, unhappy that she's in between us.

"Don't ever call me that again," I growl.

"No matter, Arie will still let me call her that," Chris grins, patting her knee. In a flash, my knife is against his throat.

"Get your hands off of her," I order. Slowly, he moves his hand back to the steering wheel. "Thank you," I say sweetly. "Oh look, here's our stop!" With a little pressure on his throat, Chris reluctantly pulls over and unlocks the doors. I shove the door open with one hand, and fall out. Chris lets out a short bark of laughter as Arie daintily steps over me. Standing up, I glare at him. "You know, I never did like guys with long hair. Maybe next time I'll give you a little trim." On that note, I slam the door and storm off, Arie jogging to catch up. She eyes me like I'm still going to explode.

"Um…there's a bookstore right around the corner," she comments.

"Alright, let's go!" I exclaim, darting off.

**Sunflower: And…scene. Merry Christmas everyone! No presents please, instead, review!**

**Cheshire: Ouch! That was harsh Kate… Well I liked! Also those books I listed are AWESOME! My all time faves! Hoped you liked it!**

**Chris: WHY DOES EVERYONE HATE ME! **

**Sunflower: Maybe because you're a potential rapist!**

**Cheshire: Sunny! You couldn't be more true…but don't talk to my baby that way! (****turns to Chris) Come here Mommy love you!**

**(Chris gives me a hug) Chris: Why does Sunny hate me so much mommy…**

**Cheshire: Hush! Well REVIEW! And Merry Christmas! **


	17. 16: The Flying Dutchman

**Sup home dogs! What's going on! **

**Hey! Hey! Hey! GUESS WHAT! You know what Time it is... It's mission time! Whoop! Whoop! And YJ is coming back on the 5th of January! EKKKKK so exciting!**

**Haha I think I've had too much Laffy Taffy... I have a serious problem! I'm addicted to Laffy Taffy! I swear I never thought eating flavored colored wax (that's what it looks like to me...I don't know if that is true) could be so addicting?! I've already eaten four boxes! FOUR! **

***sigh* Well on to the fic! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice, but I do own Roger. I just produced "That's So Megan," which the Martians just loved so much.**

**Ariana's POV: **

"BURN THE WITCH!" I scream as Kate forces me into a pink dress. I wiggle myself out for the girly death trap. Kate glares at me in a murderous manner. I look around Kate's room of an exit out of this!

"For the thousandth time I'm not a witch! Now get into the dress!"

"NEVER!" I dash towards the door which ends into a fail since Batgirl blocks my only chance of escape. Her cold glare on me only makes this situation worse on me. She crosses her arms like she's the bloody Queen of Sheba. I grit my teeth as I look around and aware that I'm cornered.

How did it end up like this again...

_Flashback!_

"Silver, Batgirl, and Merlin," Nightwing says, "You three will be going undercover to The Flying Dutchman_,_ a bar and club that tends to serve goons and high class villains. Intel says that something huge is going to go down there. I want you three to find out what that is and stop it." Kate and Batgirl nod, as I just glare at Bat Boy crossing my arms. "Kate you'll be in charge of the mission," Nightwing tells her. Kate smiles in excitement. "Well I'll let you guys get ready."

Kate claps her hands together, "I'll get our clothes!"

Batgirl glares at me with a hateful expression and just rolls her eyes. She turns to Bat Boy, "Does she have to come with us?"

Nightwing nods. "A certain someone was complaining that she wasn't coming on missions." His eyes narrow and we all know who that "someone" is. "Besides I think she will be extremely helpful in this situation, considering her background in the matter."

We glare at each other...and I grit my teeth saying, "You said too much!"

Batgirl huffs in annoyance and turns to head to Kate's room, "Whatever...you're the boss after all."

She leaves the hall, making an awkward silence for Bat Boy and me. I watch her until she's out of sight. I'm unaware that Nightwing was sneaking up on me. He blows air on the back of my neck making me jump, he laughs. I turn and glare back at him. "That wasn't funny!"

He smiles, "It was to me."

I turn my head away, blushing. "What's with you putting me in a sudden mission with the others?"

He shrugs, "I thought it would be great bonding time with the others."

I shoot him a look, "I'm fine with the way things are."

He glares back at me, "Well maybe it's time for you to be more active with your work." I snarl at him, what's with the cold attitude suddenly. "Well I think Batgirl misjudges your abilities and doesn't trust us for what we've done. I mean you did hear our conversation, so you're pretty much caught up on the situation." I jump back, surprised.

"How...?" I shudder.

He smirks and puts a finger up to his lips, "I'll never tell." I get flustered and I turn around forcing him to look at my back. I cross my arms, annoyed with him.

"I don't see the point in trying. She can just hate me with everyone else in this world." Suddenly Nightwing grabs me pulling me closer to him. Embracing me in a hug, my heart beats faster as I feel his arms wrap around my waist. I feel the warmth of his body press against mine, as his lips gently brush the tips of my ears.

He softly whispers to me, "Because I want them to see how I know the real you...to see how wonderful you are." My eyes widen as he buries his face into my neck and holds me tighter. My face goes completely hot.

"Nightwing," I say softly. I feel his lips press against my neck, and I start to get weak from the embrace. His lips trail down farther down my neck. I realize what's going on and I pull away from him, giving him a cold harsh glare as I stare back at his confused face.

"You don't know the real me." I turn away from him with tears threatening to fall. I dash towards Kate's room before he could say another word.

So then this happened, Kate is now trying to force me into a pink girly dress for the mission, well it was Batgirl's idea to wear the dress...

Kate tries to jump me in my thoughts but I move out the way. She goes colliding into Batgirl, a smile creeps up on my face. They both get up and brush themselves off.

"Come on Ariana wear the darn dress!" Kate yells at me.

I shake my head, "No I'll look like a goth girl gone preppy. It doesn't suit my image."

"Who cares about your image," Batgirl snorts.

My eyes narrow, "It's common sense which obviously, you don't have."

"What did you just say to me!"

"It's an undercover mission the purpose is to blend in with the crowd. If I wear that dress it won't look natural. And it would result to standing out too much, which we clearly don't want."

Batgirl clenches her fist and throws a batarang at me, it lets out wire cables that wraps around me. I'm tied up. Batgirl grabs my shirt collar and drags me out the room. "Come on Kate time to go...and bring the dress."

Kate hesitates for a moment as she looks at my pleading eyes. She sighs and follows Batgirl to the zeta tube.

_"I'm sorry," _Kate tells me telepathically.

I give her a faint smile, _"It's alright it's not your fault. I'll just suck it up and wear the dress. Besides if this idea fails and we get caught... I'm blaming Batgirl for listening to her big fat ego." _

Kate and I giggle as Batgirl shoots us dirty looks.

**ooooooooo**

They finally made me wear that stupid dress and I am not a happy camper! I mean Kate and Batgirl look smoking hot and I have to wear this stupid thing! We make it to the pier and there stands a large, buff African American man that looks to be around his mid-twenties. He's in front of a door to a storage shed.

"There it is," I say, "The Flying Dutchman."

They both raise an eyebrow. "It's just a storage shed," Kate says.

I shake my head in disapproval, "It's not just a shed, it's a staircase. You see, it's underground."

"But that would mean...," Batgirl says.

I nod, "The Flying Dutchman is under the sea."

"How do you know all this?" Batgirl asks me.

I shrug, "I do my research." I don't really want to tell them at I've actually been to The Flying Dutchman before. Chris and I would hang out here some times.

"Come on," Batgirl says as she storms towards the man. Kate follows. My eyes widen in panic.

"Wait a second! There's something I forgot to tell you!" But it's too late, they can't hear me. I sigh and run to catch up before something horrible happens.

Batgirl looks up at the man in front of her and smiles, "Hi there. If you don't mind moving we would like to go inside please." She bats her eyelashes at him in a pleasing manner.

He grunts, "No one enters unless they're a member."

Batgirl's expression drops and Kate tries to have a go at it. "Well I bet a strong handsome guy like yourself wouldn't mind letting a couple of cute girls in would you?" She gives him a seductive smile, but no hope. Still that emotionless expression on his face.

"Members only," he says coldly. He suddenly picks up Kate and Batgirl like they weigh nothing and throws them towards the mud. Thankfully they didn't land in the mud, but they did get a bit dirty. Batgirl looks furious, I chuckle and she shoots me the death glare.

I smile down at them, "Let me handle this." I walk up to the man and hold out my arms in a gangster manner. "ROCKO MY MAN," I say. His face lights up and smiles at me.

"Well there is a face I thought I'd never see again!" We bump fits, "How's it hanging Merlin." I look back and see Kate and Batgirl's jaws hit the floor.

"Nothing much. How about you bro?"

He shrugs, "Same old, same old. Say where's your man?"

"We broke up," I say.

"Man that's rough girl," I nod, "Say what's with the outfit?"

I look down at my dress then back to him, "Long story. Hey you don't mind letting me and my friends in?" I nod towards Kate and Batgirl.

He nods, "Of course and sorry I threw them."

I wave my hand in a careless manner, "It's okay. No harm done." I turn to look at the other two and I wave my hand. _"Come on we're in!" _I tell them.

Rocko opens the door for us and we stare down at the long staircase that leads downward. Kate gulps, I roll my eyes and start to make my way down the stairs.

We walk silently down the stairs. "So Ariana how come he let you in but not us?" Batgirl asks. Huh...someone is jealous. Kate remains silent.

"Because I know him," I answer her.

"So are you a member?"

I shake my head, "I'm not a member but I've been here before."

"How?"

"I use to date a mob boss and he's a member. We would come here sometimes."

"Huh," Batgirl says smugly, "Well I can't see you dating a mob boss. Don't mob bosses usually date girls who are drop dead gorgeous and are super wealthy?"

I stop in my tracks making Kate run into Batgirl, I turn around and glare at Batgirl. "Are you implying something?"

She crosses her arms in defense, "I am actually."

I give her a quick glance and turn back around. I start walking again, "You're not worth the effort." Batgirl scowls.

We make it to the bottom of the stairs and glance down the long hallway ahead of us. It's completely underwater, but a glass archway surrounds the walls of the hallway, allowing us to see all the aquatic life surrounding us.

Kate smiles in amazement, "It looks just like the aquarium!"

I nod, "Now remember! Blend in!" I walk down the hallway and open the door at the end. Music blares out and lights flash everywhere, we all walk in. We stare at all the faces before us. This isn't good if I get recognized it'll mean disaster!

Kate claps her hands together, "Ok here is the plan..." I zone her out as waitress walks pass me and a smirk appears on my face. I slyly follow her. Kate turns to me, "How does that sound..." she realizes I'm not there anymore. She spots me following the waitress, so does Batgirl. Suddenly I grab the waitress pressure point on her neck, making her pass out. I grab her and drag her to the nearest closest. I come out dressed in her uniform. It's a black leather vest, a short leather mini skirt, a black mask and knee length leather high heel boots.

I do a little twirl for the others, "How do I look?"

"Like a stripper," Batgirl says coldly.

I glare at her, "Well it's blending. I can get more info this way."

"What happened to the other waitress?" Kate asks.

"Don't worry she's fine. We just switched clothes. Also I charmed the mask so everyone who looks at me thinks that they are looking at the waitress."

"Well it's not working," Batgirl says.

"Well I charmed it a certain way so that you two can see me!" I grunt and turn away from them, "I'm going to get info. We have a mission to do." I grab a tray off a table and storm off.

I walk around serving villains their drinks and food, picking up a few words of their conversations. Kate and Batgirl sit at a high table, observing.

"Oh waitress!" Someone calls out to me. I turn around and see a guy around his late to mid-twenties, with shaggy reddish-brown hair, and buck teeth. He's wearing a white hat with large rabbit ears. My eyes widen, he smiles. "Sup Arie!" My smile widens and I place my tray on the table.

"Oh my gosh! Roger it's been so long since I've seen you!"

He smiles, "Same here." I'm not surprised that Roger can see through my illusion, because he has the power to see through mind control or illusions.

_"Arie what's going on?" _Kate asks.

_"Just meet an old friend that's all. I'll get back on track," _I reply.

_"And bring us some fried cheese sticks while you're at it! I'm starving," _Batgirl adds.

_"I'm not your slave. Besides you're paying for it!" _I bark back. I turn back to Roger, "Well I'm busy so I have to go. Nice seeing you! Tell your dad I said hey!" I turn to leave.

He waves goodbye, "Don't worry I will. Nice seeing you too!"

I flash him an over the shoulder smile and get back to work.

I walk back to the table and slam the plate of fried cheese sticks on the table where Batgirl and Kate are sitting. "There," I say coldly.

Kate gives me a smile, "Thanks Ariana."

I nod. "So any luck yet?" Batgirl asks.

"Yes. There is supposed to be a meeting here, but I don't know where yet?"

She smirks, "Well find out."

Kate interrupts, "She's doing the best she can. I mean she is doing all the work."

"Thank you Kate," I tell her.

"You're wel-," she suddenly gasps and a furious expression appears on her face. I glance over at the direction she is looking at, and it seems she's glaring at a man who is sitting at the bar. He's an African American man looks around Kate's age...a bit older, and has a buzz-cut pale hair with gray eyes. He takes a sip of his drink and I notice he has webbed hands. I look back at Kate who is digging her nails into the metal of the table, her eyes have a mad-man feel in them. Batgirl doesn't look so happy either.

"I'm not surprised he's here," Batgirl murmurs. Kate stands abruptly and storms towards the man.

I turn to Batgirl, "What's her problem?"

Batgirl raises an eyebrow, "That's Kaldur'ahm."

My eyes widen and I shoot my gaze back at him, "That's Kaldur?!"

Batgirl nods, "Yep. If he's here it's no telling what could happen."

I sigh, "Let Kate handle him." He's her problem not ours.

Batgirl stares at me, "You know you're not so bad."

I look back at Batgirl with eyes wide, "Huh?"

"I can see why Dick chose you, you got connections."

I smile, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"I'm a bit jealous of you though," she says quietly.

"Why?"

"I've known Dick for a long time and I can tell when he likes someone," she gives me a sideway glance.

"There is no reason for you to be jealous," I grunt.

She laughs and I pick up a cheese stick and shove it in her mouth. She coughs, and I smirk. "I also have an uneasy feeling about you," she croaks.

I give her a cold glare, "You should." Something catches my attention in the corner of my eye. I turn to the side to see Vandal Savage pull back a curtain to reveal a hallway. "Hey watch Kate, I'm going to check something out." I leave Batgirl and rush towards the curtain. I pull it back and enter the hallway. I secretly follow him down the hallway, hiding behind pillars every time he turns around to see if he's being followed. He turns into a room and close the door behind him, but it leaves a small crack in the door open. I rush towards the door and listen in on the conversation inside.

"Ah Vandal you made it!"

"Yes, now on with meeting. I hope everything is going well with The Reach?"

"Yes everything is going smoothly, and my son has a plan to apply with certain specimen."

"And what about you and your plan?"

I hear a familiar chuckle, "Once I get the girl, the Light will be unstoppable!" I shudder, I know that voice! I look through the hole and see him with an evil smirk across his face. I grit my teeth... Psimon.

**Kate's POV: **

I'm fuming as I push through the crowd to get to Kaldur. I get that he's a villain, but can't he at least have the decency to stay at home? And now Nightwing will know all about it, thanks to Batgirl. Oh well. I'm already moving, might as well put this to good use. Reaching Kaldur, I tap him on the shoulder. Turning his head, he looks me up and down. I tug at the hem of my dress, suddenly aware of how little I'm wearing. That's it, Batgirl is never picking out the clothes again.

"You look…nice," Kaldur smirks. I resist the urge to stick my tongue out at him. Instead I press myself against him.

"Truce for the night?" I whisper in his ear. He looks at me one more time, then nods. Smiling at him, I lean in for a kiss. I've gotten dozens of secrets out of guys this way, but with Kaldur it's always different. There's some sort of spark that happens when I kiss him, and only him. Nipping his lip lightly, I pull back. "Come on, let's find somewhere more…private." Without waiting for an answer I grab his hand and tug him along. I weave through the crowd until I spot a seemingly deserted hallway. Pulling Kaldur along behind me, I enter it, opening doors at random until I find a mainly empty supply closet. We duck in, the door closing and leaving us in total darkness. The edge of my knife lands at his neck right as I feel the tip of his water blade coming to rest on my stomach. I focus, and my stone starts glowing enough for us to see each other.

"Looks like we both had the same idea," Kaldur says with a dark chuckle. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Just going off of something a little birdie told me," I reply with a shrug and a light laugh. "What about you?"

"Family business. Did you come by yourself?" My heart races as I try to think of a suitable answer. We're playing a dangerous game, one where one little slip could bring down our plans.

"Just some friends with good hearing and eyesight," I finally say. "You?"

Kaldur smiles. "What would you do to find out?" I close the gap between us (which wasn't very big to begin with) and smile back.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I reply, slowly licking my upper lip. This time he's the one who moves first, roughly placing his lips on mine. I kiss him back, sincerely glad that we're alone. Unconsciously, I lower my knife, and I can feel Kaldur doing the same. I drop the knife, and shove his out of his hands. I pull his head down to deepen the kiss, breaking contact only when I feel his tongue brush against my lips. "Kaldur we...we shouldn't be doing this," I squeeze out. "It's against protocol."

"Did you forget? I'm a villain. I don't follow protocol," Kaldur says, lowering his head to mine again. And this time, I don't pull back, even when light spills over us as the door opens. But then someone clears their throat, and Kaldur and I jump apart. I look, blushing, into the smirking face of Arie, and the scandalized one of Batgirl. I hurriedly squeeze out of the closet, red lingering on my cheeks. Kaldur follows, and stands opposite of us. He starts backing up, locking his gaze on me.

"There is a storm coming, and nothing you do will stop it," he says before throwing down something small. Smoke billows into the air, obscuring everything from view. Coughing, I try to wave it away, ducking under Barbara's thrown batarang. It imbeds itself in the wall. Kaldur's gone.

"Come on let's go," Ariana says, snapping us into movement. We walk out into the main room, and I stare. People are screaming and running, weapons are out, and is that a small fire?

"Ariana…what did you do?" I ask with a glare.

"I may have fallen in on a Light meeting…and knocked some heads before running," she replies meekly.

I glare at her, then sigh. "Whatever. But you're the one telling Nightwing. Come on." I take off into the mass of people, ducking under elbows and other dangerous objects. And I can't help but wonder over Kaldur's last clue. What could it mean?

**Sunflower: Hey guys. And Merry Christmas! And yes I just said that! I refuse to use the term 'happy holidays.' Jesus is the reason for the season! Now that my little rant is over, I'd just like to say I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Especially the Kaldur/Kate (hope you enjoyed it Surreal Yume) because it took forever to write. My dad kept on popping in whenever I was writing, so it was really awkward. Reviews= leftover Christmas cookies.**

**Cheshire: Yep Yep Well I got Under the Red Hood DVD for Christmas so happy. And I'm posting day after day so strange right! Well I hope you had a great holiday! **


	18. 17: Kate's take over to Nature's Remedy

**Sunflower: *whacks Cheshire on the head with a frying pan* Mwahahahahahaha! Guess who's taking over? Me! You! *points at Arie* Do something with this body!**

**Arie: But- **

**Sunflower: *points frying pan at Arie, who drags Cheshire away* Places!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice….yet…..**

_**Kate**_

I tie the light green apron around my waist and pin the name tag on my blouse. Walking out of the small staff room and over to the cash register, I tap Amy on the shoulder.

"I'm here," I smile.

"Oh thank you so much!" she exclaims, worry in her eyes.

"I can't believe your mom got in that freak car accident. Tell her I hope she gets better soon." Amy nods and hurries away, and I take her place at the register. Signing my name in the log book next to the register, I take stock of the pastries. It looks we need more cupcakes. Walking over to the small refrigerator, I take out a bowl with "vanilla cupcakes" on the label, along with the Nature's Remedy label on it. That's where I work. It's a small coffee and tea shop in Happy Harbor, although it also sells candles, incense, and a few paperbacks and works of local writers and artists. My favorite is the cute little clay dragons. Each one is a different color, and each color has a different talent. Everyone on the team has one now. I need to get one for Arie though.

Taking a muffin tin out of the drawer below the fridge, I set everything on the counter, taking off the lid of the plastic bowl so the batter can start to thaw. Stepping out from behind the counter, I walk over to the candle and incense section in the back. Blowing out the vanilla candle Amy had lit, I strike a match and set fire to the wick of a strawberry-scented one. I wave the match out, and inhale deeply. Mmmm. The bell over the door tinkles, signifying a customer.

"Welcome to Nature's Remedy, how may I help you?" I ask, stepping out from behind the shelves. I squint in the light coming through the store front, trying to see who walked in. They're doing something at the door. My eyes finally adjust. It's Kaldur of course. Sighing, I pinch the bridge of my nose to ward off a headache.

"Let me guess. You released a strain of the flu virus in Emily's air vents so she would get sick and not be able to make it to work, bumped up the date of the Tea Festival in Japan so Miss Amanda wouldn't be here, and arranged for Amy's mom to get in a car wreck. Thanks Kaldur. This is exactly what I needed."

He blinks. "No, actually. That was all just luck."

"Oh." I stare at him. "Well you still need to get out."

"I'm a paying customer."

"I don't see money. Out." I point towards the door.

"Well you haven't shown me anything worth buying yet."

"You can see the smoking end of the shotgun Miss Amanda keeps in the staff room," I snap, moving back behind the counter.

"The woman who owns a tea and art shop has a shotgun?"

"No, I was just messing with you," I reply. He relaxes a little. "She has pistols hidden all over the place though."

"Is that legal?"

"She has the licenses. Besides, her nephew is the chief of police here."

"Not her son?"

"Did you just hint that hippies don't get married? I think you just did. Get out, before I call her nephew."

"I just want to see you, Kate."

"Every time you want to see me I usually end up writing extra long reports trying to explain to Nightwing how I end up kissing you." He smirks at that.

"Well, then, I suppose we won't be kissing this time."

"We won't be doing anything at all, because you'll be leaving."

"But I'm looking for a birthday present for my father."

"The plans for taking over the world are in the back," I quip. "Just leave me alone, I have a job to do." I go back behind the counter, trying to ignore the feeling of his eyes on me. I mess around with the batter until he gets the hint and goes to the back of the shop. Sticking the cupcakes in the oven, I sigh. Walking over to the section with the books, I pick up a copy of _Moby Dick_.

"Here, try this," I hand him the book. He smiles down at me, and I stuff any feelings into the back of my head.

"Thank you," he replies. Gently taking the book from my hand, he flips through it. "I remember you forcing me to read this."

"It's a classic," I huff. "Everyone should read it."

"You're so cute when you try to make people read." He leans down and kisses my forehead. I'm pulled out of my shock by a funny scent in the air. The cupcakes! Rushing behind the counter, I pull the tin out. A second later, I toss it on the counter. I forgot to wear an oven mitt.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," I mutter, holding my hand to my chest. Walking over to the sink, I start running cold water over it. Ohhhhh, that's much better.

"What's wrong?" Kaldur asks from behind me. I jump a little, and he chuckles.

"Just burned my hand a little, that's all."

"Do you keep a first aid kit around here?"

"In the staff room," I jerk my head towards the door. Kaldur goes in, and shortly comes out carrying the kit. By that time the hand is cool to touch, so I know I can bandage it. Patting it dry with a towel, I take the kit from Kaldur and sit down on the floor. I fumble trying to open it with one hand.

"Here, let me." Kaldur sits down next to me, opening the kit and taking out the burn cream and a bandage. He lightly smears the cream on my palm. I try not to laugh, but a little giggle works its way out. "What is it?" he asks.

"Nothing. Just ticklish."

"Now I remember," he smiles. Suddenly, his hands are at all my sensitive places, sending me into a fit of giggles. I fall back, trying to shield myself, but he just follows. I'm still laughing a little when he stops, and I realize we're both on the floor, side by side. Then his lips are on mine and I don't know what to do. So I pull back.

"I said no kissing," I tell him, avoiding looking at him.

"I'm sorry." Gently he takes my hand and places the bandage on it. Then he gets up and walks out of the store. I'm still there when I realize he didn't pay for the book.

**Sunflower: Gah! Sorry this took so long, I've just been super busy. And yes, the book thing will come up again. I gotta go, Cheshire's waking up! *disappears in a cloud of purple, strawberry-scented smoke***

**Cheshire: Wha-? What just happened…? SUNNY! Gar! Well I have a massive headache now thanks to Sunny. Anyway I have a huge announcement to make, Unlucky Member is now on Tumblr! Ta-Da! We have an ask blog, so you guys can get to know the OC's more. And you guys can ask us anything, and I mean anything. So come check us out at askunluckymember tumblr com (add . between tumblr and com)**

**Oh and I wanted to apologize for the late update and that I'm not dead **** So I hope you guys enjoyed the little take over and please review. Or I'll go all Fluff Monster on you and hunt you down. Are we clear ;) Great! Anyway come check us out on Tumblr! (seriously I'm dying for some questions!)**


	19. 18: Pie equals Love

**GARRRRRRRRRRRRR! YOUNG JUSTICE IS BEING CANCELLED! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! (I'm literally screaming right now!) I AM SO MAD! *destroys village!* Seriously what did the fandom do to ever deserve this madness! Also** **I think Scarab is a Nightwing fangirl too! Well I guess I have to try harder than.**

**From now on I'm following the YJ storyline since the recent events have been messing up with my plot! *sigh* So I had to make a few changes but don't worry it befits you since most of them are fluff scenes. So yeah that's what happening. Oh and please check out our Tumblr page please! (Sorry for me being pushy but seriously I want it to be used!) **

**Fun Fact!: The word "nerd" was first coined by Dr. Seuss in "If I Ran the Zoo."**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice; I'm just a fangirl that signs petitions to get the show un-canceled!**

**Ariana: **

I slide next to Kate on her bed as she drinks her tea. "So how was meeting with Kaldur at your job?"Kate's eyes widen and she spits her tea everywhere. She stares at me shocked, I just smile. "It's not like I didn't know, I can read minds." Kate remains speechless. "Also your hand was bandaged so I thought something was up."

Kate smiles until she remembers something. "Oh! I just remembered I have something for you." She reaches in her bag and pulls out a mottled white and black dragon statue. My eyes widen and I stare, gently taking it out of her hands. "You like it?"

My smile widens, "I love it!" I give Kate a hug, "Thank you!"

Kate giggles, "You're welcome, and glows in the dark."

I hold the dragon to my chest, "Thanks. I'll put it next to Oswald."

Kate raises and eyebrow, "Oswald?"

I nod, "Yeah the doll I made." I reach behind me and pull out the hand stitched doll with black yarn hair and purple button eyes. "This is Oswald." Kate gives me a weirded-out look. I just smile finding this completely normal. I notice that it's really quiet, "Where is everyone?"

Kate points down, "The Grotto of the Fallen."

I nod trying to understand, "I don't know what that is."

Kate smiles faintly, she opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted by Bat Boy. He peeks his head in the door of Kate's room and looks at me. "Can I see you for a minute Ariana? Oh! And Kate the girls say it's time to leave for the bridal shower." Kate's eyes widen and she begins to scurry around getting everything ready. I'm not going the shower, I don't even know Raquel. So why should I go, beside I'll just rather stay here and be my anti-social self. I get up from Kate's bed (leaving the dragon and Oswald behind) and make my way to the door. Nightwing closes the door behind us and gently laces his hand in mine, making my heart beat faster. Kate suddenly rushes out the door, and Nightwing pulls me aside closer to him to avoid being hit by the rampaging Kate.

"What do you want?" I try to say without my voice cracking. Nightwing smiles and tugs on my hand a bit dragging me down the hall to the main room.

"Come on," he says looking back at me, "I want you to meet someone." He drags me into the main room. Standing there is Mal, Conner, Jaime and some kid I don't recognize. But he looks like a tiny version of Wally. They all notice us and Conner's eyes narrow. I hear his thoughts and rip my hand away from Nightwing's. I try to act calm when he looks back worried, but he just shrugs it off.

We walk up to them and I wave at Mal. He's very nice to me so he returns the favor. Nightwing puts his arm around my shoulders making my face go hot, "Ariana I would like you to meet Bart Allen or Impulse. He's a new member to the team." I look down at the small Wally as he just eats a bag of freeze-dried Chicken Whizzies. I raise an eyebrow and look back at Nightwing, he just smiles. I look back at Bart, unamused.

"So you're Ariana Kerli," he starts to say, "I must say you're less intimidating than the history books say you are. So not crash."

"What did you just say to me?" I ask, confused.

Nightwing leans in and whispers in my ear, "Bart is from the future." I just nod my head in understanding.

"So is there anything else I need to know," I ask, crossing my arms.

Nightwing smiles, "No that's it."

Jaime smiles towards me, "So Ariana want to come with Bart and me to the movie theater in Happy Harbor?"

Bart jumps up excited, "I hear they're playing Death of the Living Zombie Vampire Cows 3!"

I smile, "Of course. I would love to go with you."

Jaime beams with excitement, "Great!" _"Jaime Reyes I hope this isn't an opportunity to 'flirt' with the female, Ariana." _Our eyes widen. "No!" Jaime yells at the scarab. Jaime looks back to see my red, embarrassed face. "Besides," Jaime whispers to the scarab, "She has a boyfriend."

I grab Jaime and Bart, "Alrighty then! Let's get going!" I start to drag them to the zeta tube, leaving everyone confused.

To be honest I enjoyed the scariest movie of the decade. Though I wouldn't say so for Jaime and Bart. Bart spilled the popcorn all over me...twice. And possibly peed his pants. Jaime kept screaming the whole time something popped out, it got really annoying after a while. Even the scarab was scared...in its own way. But the highlight of the evening is when we all got _We survived the Death of the Living Zombie Vampire Cows 3 _t-shirts. I was so happy when we all took a picture together in our t-shirts. It's been so long since I did this with friends, if Jaime only knew how special this was to me. I look over to see him and Bart chatting away, I faintly smile.

"Hey!" They look over towards me. "Want to get some ice cream? My treat." Their faces light up.

**ooooooooooooo**

I scream at the top of my lungs as a nightmare wakes me up, breathing heavily as I run my fingers through my long hair. I shake the images out of my head. I throw the sheets aside and bolt for the kitchen, I slam open the fridge. I dig through the food not really hungry at all. I give up and collapse on the cold floor, staring up at the high ceiling. I feel a presence...I sit up and walk into the main room. I see Nightwing typing at the hologram computer, trying to solve a math problem. He is wear a gray t-shirt and dark blue pajama pants, I'm quite surprised to see him in normal clothes. He runs his fingers through his messy black hair is frustration, "Why can't I solve this!"

I look at the problem, "Pi." Nightwing jumps from the sound of my voice, he turns around to see me behind him. I notice he's not wearing his shades so I can see his clear blue eyes.

He sighs, "Not now Ariana. I'm busy." He turns around going back to ignoring me.

"Pi," I continue to say.

He types faster, "I don't have time for food right now."

I start to get annoyed and I lean in. My body brushes against his as I point to the problem, "No you idiot! The answer is pi, 3.14." I look over to see his red face, I quickly move over to stand beside him.

"Thanks...for the answer," he says softly. I smile and nudge his arm in a playful manner. I see a smile creep up on his lips as a soft laugh echoes through the room. I look over at the computer screens and stare at all the math, news reports, and files.

"What are you working on?" I ask.

He quickly shuts it down and turns to face me, "Nothing of your concern." His eyes meet mine as I pout. He smiles, "Don't give me that look."

I shrug, "I'm not surprised you're a bat you kept secrets. It's understandable."

His eyes widen, "Well you don't have to put it that way."

I smile, "Sorry but it's true."

I stare deeply into his blue eyes, and his face turns a bit red. "What is it?" he asks.

I snap out of my gaze and pull a piece of hair behind my ear, trying hard not to make eye contact. "Nothing it's just weird seeing you without your mask," I say quietly.

I feel his fingers gently touch my hand, I look down to see his fingers lacing through mine. I look back to see his small smile, his grip tightens and he starts to lead me somewhere. "I have something to show you." I just nod.

He leads me down a long stairwell that goes downward, we seem pretty far underground.

At the end there is a room with a little lake, but holograms of heroes occupy the room. I see a Robin, Artemis and two I don't recognize.

"What is this place?" I ask.

"The Grotto of the Fallen," he says softly. I remember Kate mention this place earlier. He leads me to the Robin statue, which confuses me a bit. We sit down looking up at it. "That's Jason," Nightwing says suddenly, "He was my successor." My eyes widen and my eyes dart back to the hologram. Nightwing's grip gets tighter bring him back to my attention. He sighs and he looks over at me from the corner of his eye, "You remind me a lot of him." I avoid my gaze and look back at the hologram.

"Really?" I ask in a low voice.

Nightwing smirks and nods, "Yep. You're both stubborn, brash, don't follow orders, total delinquents." His face falls, "But you're both really caring people inside." I lean my head on his shoulder, Nightwing jumps a little. He looks down at me as his face goes completely red, I smile up at him. My grip around his fingers tighten, "I don't know what happened to him, but I bet he doesn't blame you for his death. So please stop worrying." His eyes widen and he avoids eye contact. He's so shy when he's embarrassed, it's so cute! I giggle and suddenly I feel his hand brush my bangs out of my face. His push my bangs behind my ear, showing my eyes. I can feel his hand move behind my neck. He smiles and leans in as I place my hand on his chest. I slowly move towards him.

His lips brush against mine as his hand knots in my hair. My lips push against his making a deeper kiss. I can feel a smile creep up on his lips, as I do the same. We then gently pull away from each other, and he laughs at my extremely red face. I lightly punch him in the arm and he stops laughing, which makes me smile. Nightwing looks away to stare at the hologram as he runs his fingers through his black silky locks. I stare at his serious but charming face in, as a familiar feeling comes over me, warm feeling I haven't felt in a long time.

Huh? I guess it's okay to fall in love again...but can I be able to trust him? Can it be okay to fall for him, we come from such different worlds. But can I? I place my hand on his as he looks deeply into my determined eyes. "I'm your chess piece so I'm here to serve you in any way I can." I shoot him a smile as his face goes red.

But all he does is smile, "You're a weird one."

**Yeah so sorry such a late update! It's Mardi Gras were I am (it's project X up in here!) and no WiFi also, so I've been writing a bunch while waiting parade to parade. So don't be mad at me! I have 6 stories I'm working on (new one coming out, its a one-shot) so don't give the that! And one I haven't updated in months (mostly Sunny's fault). Plus really mad at the Reach! **

**Anyway please please please come check us out on Tumblr! I made it for my followers (cuz I love all of you)! So again at .com! PLEASE! Or I'll send Connie after you! (my psycho Demon OC) and trust me you don't want that! **

**I think I'm forgetting something...Oh yeah! REVIEW! **

**Dictator out! **

**Sunflower: Excuuuse me. You're not the one taking advanced classes. **

**On a higher note, "War" sales were number two on iTunes. Keep up the good work everyone!**


	20. 19: Intruder Alert

**Sup homies! Okay just to start off...I AM SO HAPPY OF ALL THE POSITIVE COMMENTS I'VE GOTTEN! I mean wow! I feel like I've won an Oscar! (My lifelong dream/goal!) So thanks to all my fellow writers, all my followers/faves.! I really does mean the world to me! So thanks for supporting me all this way! **

**Sorry for the late update, I was in the Uk and France for a while. Sorry! **

**ALSO IM SO MAD THEY KILLED OFF WALLY! GARRRRRRR!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice but if I did I would rewrite a better ending and a season 3! **

**Ariana: **

I creep up on Nightwing and jump on his back. I wrap my arms around his neck, as he jumps back surprised. He looks out the corner of his eye and smiles, "What are you doing?" I get off him and do a little twirl showing him my new hero uniform. It's a black corset with purple laces, black pants, and a black and purple short-sleeved hoodie.

I shoot him a bright smile, "What do you think? Made it myself." He smiles and wraps his arms around me.

"You look adorable," he leans in and kisses me softly on the lips. I slip out of arms and smirk. I don't why but I feel a lot safer around Bat Boy, he just makes me feel calmer. He pulls something out of his back pocket, "It's missing something." It's a black mask. He puts it on me and steps back to admire. He nods approving, "Looks good."

Suddenly the zeta tube lights up and Blue Beetle and Impulse come crashing in. Impulse laughs, "Haha! Left them in the dust!" He holds up what looks like a weird phone.

Nightwing's eyes narrow, "Left who in the dust?" The two look at us with wide eyes, like they just got caught. Nightwing walks towards them and points to the phone, "And what is that!"

Impulse smiles, "Souvenir!"

"Souvenirs are Beast Boy's thing _ese_," says Blue.

"Oh really? I thought it was Kid Flash," says Impulse innocently. The two look over and notice me, their jaws drop. "Wow," Impluse, "Ariana you're hot!"

Blue smiles, "No kidding!"

I notice Nightwing is about to blow it, "Can we get to the point?"

"Sorry," Blue says, "Aqualad attacked us with Icicle Jr., the Terror Twin and a ninja girl I didn't recognize."

Impulse smiles and holds up the phone thing, "This is how they tracked Blue. I made sure they couldn't do it again."

"So you brought foreign possibly alien tech back into the Cave?" says Bat Boy sternly, "Rookie mistake!" Impulse and Blue look down ashamed. I put a hand on Nightwing's shoulder to calm him down.

_"Hey! Calm down there could be a bright side to this," _I tell him. He relaxes a bit and sighs, putting his face in his hand.

"Alright," he tells me. He holds out his hand, "Give it here." Impulse hands it to him.

I look over Bat Boy's shoulder to get a better look at the thing. That device gives me a strange feeling. Nightwing brings it to the hologram computer and starts to analyze it, something is throwing me off. My eyes widen, it's a presence. I quickly look over to the docking bay, someone has intruded into the Cave and it's more than one! Nightwing stops typing and looks over at me, "Arie!" I snap out of my daze and look at him. He raises an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

I stare off into the direction the presence is coming from, my eyes narrow. "I'll catch up with you boys later. There's something I have to check out." I dash off to the kitchen and I see Wolf sleeping on the couch. I walk up and pet his head, he wakes up and nudges his head against my hand. I smile, "Warn me if there is any trouble okay boy." He nods and goes back to sleep. I dash off to the dorms, I slow my pace. Someone's been here, my eyes widen. Beast Boy's door is open! I rush over and see no one in it, where is Beast Boy!

Something isn't right here...my eyes widen. I turn around but no one is there...of course! I run to the Grotto, that's where it is! I rush down the stairs to see Conner being attacked my one of the Terror Twins and Junior Conner punches the Twin in the hand, but the Twin is crushing his hand. Conner yells in pain. "Sorry son collar done shut off your strength," says the Twin. Conner falls to his knees, as I hide in the shadows watching. I have to help him!

Junior soon comes walking up behind Conner and holds up a device. He smiles, "And that's not all it can do." He presses the button and the collar around Conner's neck electrocutes him. Conner! He falls to the ground.

"Don't know about you Junior but I'm harboring some old resentments against this boy," the Twin says while cracking his knuckles.

"Oh yeah," says Junior, "lets finish him." He summons a cloud of ice.

My eyes narrow, not on my watch. "Hey!" I shout. They look over to my direction. I step out of the shadows, "Who said you can kill on my turf!" The boys snicker.

"Like a babe like you can stop us," says Junior.

I smirk, "Yeah." Junior. throws sharp icicles at me, but I dodge running towards them. I slide under the Terror's legs and trip him, making him fall flat on his face. I hop up and Junior tries to come up behind me. But I just punch him in the jaw, making him fall back. I notice Kaldur out the corner of my eye and throw a smoke bomb for a quick getaway.

I rush to the main room, I have to warn Nightwing and the others! But I'm too late. The Twins, Junior, and the ninja chick are already there. Impulse, and Beast Boy are captured and Conner is on top of Nightwing, unconscious. I rush into the room and Blue uses his sonic waves to distract one of the Twins. I hope wherever Kate is she's okay.

I notice Nightwing gets up but suddenly the ninja come out for nowhere, and kicks him in the face. She then round kicks his feet, and Nightwing falls to the ground. She pins him down.

My eyes narrow and I run fast to help him. But something slams into me and I crash into a wall. My vision focuses and it's the female Twin. She charges towards me and I jumps up before she hits. She goes straight into the wall. I laugh seeing her dazed state, she snaps out of it. She suddenly turns around and punches me in the stomach, making me double over. She then slams me into the ground. She laughs at me as I scowl.

Suddenly I hear a scream and it makes my blood run cold. I look over and see Nightwing being electrocuted by one of the collars, screaming in pain. My eyes widen, "NIGHTWING!" He suffers as he falls to the ground. No!

I clench my fist and punch the twin right in the jaw, I don't have time to play around with this one. I run towards the ninja chick and kick her in the face, she jumps back started. She throws a shurikan at me, but I dodge. I run up to her and punch her in the face, but she takes the close combat to her advantage. She grabs me by the throat as I look deep into her eyes. My eyes widen as I see a flash of Artemis. "Artemis," I whisper.

Her eyes widen and she throws me to the floor. I try to get up but she slams a rod over my head. I fall holding my head, I look back down at my hand...and I see it's covered in blood. I collapse from my weaken state.

"STAND DOWN," booms Kaldur. He walks into my focus, holding a black bag. "This battle is over," he says to Blue.

"I don't think so, traitor," say Blue as he points his cannons towards him.

"Well rethink Beetle," he buts the bag down and unzips it showing an alien looking device, "this is the same type of bomb at obliterated Malena Island." He holds up a trigger device, "I am holding down the dead man switch. If my thumb comes off this button for any reason Mount Justice falls."

Blue stands down and accepts a collar. Junior comes sliding down, "I'm fine by the way!"

"Good. Escort Impulse, Beast Boy, and Beetle to the flyer," Kaldur orders.

"What about these two?" the ninja girl asks.

"As hostages here they have value but Nightwing is a normal human, and Superboy is a human Kryptonian hybrid clone. Neither category is of any interest to our partner."

She then walks up to me, "Well what about her?" I glare at Kaldur as he does the same to me.

_"She reminds me of the girl Psimon is looking for...I shall put her with the others." _His thoughts say. My eyes widen, I am not going back to him! I don't want to turn bad again! My eyes narrow, desperate times come for desperate measures. I have to use my powers, but that would mean...

I'm sorry Nightwing.

I focus on to Kaldur and enter his mind until I take control of him and his mind.

"No," I whisper, "We will be not taking the girl, she is of no use to us."

"No," Kaldur repeats, "We will be not taking the girl, she is of no use to us."

The ninja girl nods, "Understood." I release Kaldur from my control.

The feeling comes over me and I start to cough up blood. Every time I use my sealed powers my health decreases, bringing me one step closer to death. I continue to cough as the world seems to slip away. I hear Nightwing's voice but it seems so far away so distant, but then it stops. Then all is left is the sound of footsteps and warped voices surrounding me.

Then everything goes black...

**Kate: **

I flick my wrist, sending the knives flying towards the target. All four hit the center with a satisfying thunk as they stop against the wooden back.

"Five more, then I'll stop," I mutter to myself, walking over to pull them off. I had been training all afternoon, just to get away from everyone. I reach out to grab the hilt of a knife. I tense and spin to the side, throwing up a shield. The barrage of icicles shatters, sending slivers everywhere. "Junior," I growl.

"Found one more!" he calls over his shoulder. "Good thing the boss had us do a sweep." The person he's talking to comes into the gym. It's Tommy Terror.

"This day is just getting better and better," I mutter. Junior throws more icicles. I dodge to the side, stumbling a little when my foot twists. They have the definite advantage. I'm tired, alone, and all my knives are halfway across the room. Tommy leaps across the room and pushes me back. I slam into the wall and slum to the floor. He walks over and rips off my bracelet, breaking the chain.

"Hey!" I shout indignantly, throwing myself at him. He easily catches me, holding me in the air by the neck. I try to bite his hand, but he squeezes, and my vision goes gray.

"The boss wants them all alive, remember?" Junior says. Tommy loosens his grip, and I breathe deeply. The twin drops me on the ground unceremoniously, and Junior snaps on an inhibitor collar, like the ones they use at the really bad prisons. "Now do I need to show you how bad this will hurt?" he asks, waving the remote around. I shake my head no. "Good. Now move."

Tommy hauls me to my feet, half pulling, half carrying me to the main room. Everyone is in collars like me, even Wolf. I immediately focus on Ariana, who's lying on her stomach, not moving. Before Tommy can react, I twist out of his grip and rush to Arie's side, kneeling beside her. I roll her over, my hand landing in something wet and a little sticky when I do so. I look down at my fingers, now stained red. Blood. I look at my friend, eyes widening when I see the little trickle of blood coming from the corner of her mouth.

"Arie?" I say quietly, shaking her shoulder. "Ariana." Nothing. Someone grabs me, pulling me back from her. I spin around, ready to fight, but freeze when I see who it is. Kaldur. Instinctively, I reach up and slap him, smearing blood across his cheek. Junior fumbles with the remote, but Kaldur holds up a hand, stilling his movements.

"Poor little Katie, all alone," he taunts. His blow, unexpected and hard, sends me flying back, my head cracking painfully against the floor. I lay there, my breath knocked out of me, stunned. Never before has Kaldur hit me. I hear voices through the ringing in my ears, but I can't make out the words. I close my eyes and focus. A grunt. Footsteps. Silence. More footsteps, these lighter and faster.

"Kate, get up." I open my eyes. Nightwing. "Now!" he commands. I push myself up, swaying a little. Nightwing picks up Arie. "Everyone out of the cave!" We run towards the beach exit. The door opens and we race into the cool night air. I squint, letting my eyes adjust to the dark. Then, for the second time this evening, I'm flying through the air. I hit the ocean, barely having time to suck in air before sinking. I swim up, surfacing with everyone else. I count heads. One, two, three, four, five…

"Where's Jaime?" I ask, my voice shaking.

"They took him," Conner replies. Sphere surfaces in her motorcycle form, and we all latch on to her. Nightwing gently places Arie on Sphere where she won't slip off.

"How is she?" Bart whispers.

"Breathing," Nightwing says tersely. I look at the fiery remains of the cave. It was home for six years. Now I have to find a new one.

**Well, I guess you guys have to stay tuned to want happens next! The next chapter will be filled with a bunch of tears. Trust me, I have many depressing things planned for this fic. THEY DON'T CALL THE ANGST QUEEN FOR NOTHING!**

**Please REVIEW! **


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